The Missing Triangle
by The Sixth Muse
Summary: Before Hyrule was created and before time even began there was a war between the five gods. One was beaten and another killed but now history is about to repeat itself and the only person that can save Hyrule is one woman with an amazing past.
1. Prologue

Hello! I'm back again to cause chaos and disaster through my writing. * evil laugh * This story is definitely going to be interesting so I hope you enjoy it! If you have not read my other story that is currently on fanfiction.net then I will repeat myself in saying that I won't beg for reviews because I know people don't like to write them (me included). I won't beg for them but they would be nice. (  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Zelda characters but the ones that are of my creation are mine and I do own the rights to them. Trying to sue me is not a good idea since I am poor and I'm not trying to make any money off this.  
  
Setting: This story is set 17 years after Ganondorf was defeated. Link has been allowed to stay in the future and he is married to Zelda.  
  
  
  
Prologue  
  
When Time staves off Evil  
  
A new Light shall be born into the world  
  
The Emptiness will rise again  
  
And the land will be hurled into chaos  
  
Only the Light can pierce through the Darkness  
  
Though it will come at a price too late realized  
  
The missing piece shall be filled  
  
And the mistake at the beginning shall be rectified.  
  
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So mysterious and cryptic! Well that's the prologue and it will make sense later even if it doesn't sound like it. 


	2. The Message

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Zelda characters but the ones that are of my creation are mine and I do own the rights to them.  
  
Chapter One: The Message  
  
A tall man walked down a stone passageway. At equal intervals along the wall torches were set in holders to light the way. At the moment none of them were lit. It was around midday and sunlight shone through the windows between the torches. The only sound in the hallway was the soft padding of the man's brown leather boots. His green tunic fit him well and proudly displayed his muscular chest. Strapped to his back was a magnificent double- handed sword with a razor sharp edge. Over the sword was a red shield. The surface gleamed in the sunlight and threw back reflections on the wall. A long, green, pointed hat that swung over his shoulder covered the man's long blond hair. His blue eyes looked down the hall with familiarity.  
  
Coming to a crossroads the man turned left and continued on his way. A shuffling sound came from behind him. He turned his head and smiled at the funny looking man dashing down the hall. His blue robes were in disarray and his stringy brown hair was plastered to his forehead.  
  
"You're highness! Please wait! I have an urgent message that you must hear!" He held up his hand that had a paper clutched in it.  
  
"Alfred, you know better than to call me 'you're highness'," the blond man called back. Alfred hurriedly shuffled up to the king and leaned against the wall trying to catch his breath.  
  
"Sorry Link, but this is important," Alfred panted. He thrust the piece of paper under Link's nose. Link took it and unfolded it. He quickly glanced at the note his eyes widening.  
  
"Does Zelda know about this?" Link asked.  
  
"No, but she's going to find out soon. Something this big isn't just going to stay a secret. What do you want me to do?"  
  
"Call a meeting with all the Sages at once. They are the head of all their people's so it only makes sense to call them. Also get me Ian. The meeting will be held in the castle conference room as soon as everyone arrives. I don't want any courtiers in there so make sure to keep this quiet. Have some servants set up the room immediately," Link ordered.  
  
"And what of the Queen?" Alfred asked. He knew that Link didn't want to bring her into this but he was going to have to.  
  
"I'll talk to her myself. But it will be after the meeting." Link turned around and hurried on his way. He had a lot to do before the meeting got under way.  
  
Alfred watched the king walk down the hall. Sighing he started to jog off in the other direction. They had been having such a peaceful last few years. Alfred knew it wouldn't last forever but he had been hoping that he would be dead before more trouble was caused in Hyrule. He was getting on in his years and he wasn't sure how much longer he could take the strain of being the advisor to the king. Unfortunately for him, though, Link needed him now more than ever.  
  
Alfred stopped jogging and knocked on a door to his right. It opened quickly and out stepped a young woman of about twenty. Her black hair was down to her waist and her crystal blue eyes sparkled.  
  
"Nita, I need you to organize some of the palace staff to set up the conference room for ten. And try to keep it quiet okay. The king would not like to be disturbed by some of the nosier courtiers," Alfred explained. Nita shared a grin with Alfred. They both knew of Link's hatred for the castle politics.  
  
"Of course, sire. I'll make sure to get on it right away," Nita said bowing low.  
  
"Thanks a lot Nita." Alfred turned from the door as it closed and again shuffled down the hallway. Taking a right at the end of the passage he hurried through the courtyard and out onto the path that lead to the gatehouse. Alfred knocked once on the wooden door to the gatehouse. A young man no older than eighteen promptly answered it.  
  
"Is Ian here?" Alfred questioned.  
  
"Yeah, I'll get him for you." The young man disappeared from the doorway and was replaced a few minutes later by a man in his middle twenties with thick curly brown hair.  
  
"What can I do for you Alfred?" Ian asked.  
  
"I'll tell you all about it if you let me in," he said shoving his way past the Captain of the Guard.  
  
Inside the gatehouse, Alfred sat down at a small round table. Ian pulled up another chair and sat down across from the panicked man. He couldn't help but think how awful Alfred looked. Alfred hadn't bothered to shave this morning and his eyes darted around as if trying to fend off some unknown evil.  
  
"I can't tell you much except that they unexpected had happened. The king wants you at a meeting in the conference room immeadiatly. I just came in to catch my breath and rest for a moment. As soon as I leave I have to go and summon the Sages," Alfred said.  
  
Ian let out a low whistle. Summoning the Sages meant something awful. You didn't gather the most powerful people in the land without good reason even if you were friends with all of them like Link was.  
  
"When does the meeting start?" Ian asked.  
  
"As soon as the Sages arrive. I'm going to put some urgency into the message so that they get here right away. That means you should head to the conference room as soon as possible," Alfred told him. He stood up and left out the door having gained his second wind.  
  
Ian watched him go before leaving himself. He headed off to the castle to see what the fuss was about. Whatever it was, it was something big.  
  
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Suspenseful, no? It's a pretty good start I think. Next chapter you will meet our heroine and her family. Chapter 3 will be the meeting but that's all I can foreshadow for now. * giggles * I love to keep people guessing. 


	3. Laver

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Zelda characters but the ones that are of my creation are mine and I do own the rights to them.  
  
Chapter Two: Laver  
  
In the years after Ganondorf had been defeated, new villages sprung up all over Hyrule. One of these villages was located on the northern shore of Lake Hylia. It was called Laver named for its founder, Gefred Laver. Laver was a prosperous village due to trading with the Zoras. On the outskirts of the village there was a small house. It was built of wood and clay like so many of the houses beside it. The difference was that there was a stable out back for horses. Because Laver was a lakeshore town this was unusual. There wasn't a lot of land for horses so it was odd that there would be a stable on the back of the house. The reason it was there was because it was the first house built besides the scientist's laboratory in the area. The family that lived there currently had founded the town.  
  
"Mother, I'm seventeen! I think I can go out to Hyrule Field by myself. I know how to use a bow and arrows and a sword very well. I'm not going to get hurt," a voice shouted inside. The owner of the voice was a young woman with wavy blond hair that reached the middle of her back. Her green eyes snapped with fury at her mother's protectiveness. She was taller than both her parents and far skinner than both of them as well.  
  
A plump woman with jet-black hair turned to face her daughter. Her pudgy hands were wiping themselves off with the dirty apron she always wore. Black eyes patiently watched the young woman before her while she set the pie she had been baking to cool on the windowsill.  
  
"I know how old you are Lily and I don't need to be reminded of it. It just tells me how old I am," Lily's mother scolded her. "This has nothing to do with you not being old enough to go by yourself. Clayren needs to be watched this afternoon when you're father and I go out. So you are going to take her along." Her tone suggested that that was the end of the argument but Lily never knew when to give it up. She always complained that it was a matter of honor.  
  
"Clayren is sixteen. She doesn't need to be watched. Besides she hates leaving town. All she ever does is flirt with the men," Lily complained crossing her arms over her chest in an act of defiance. Her mother glared at her.  
  
"Then don't go today. It's as simple as that." Again her tone said that was as far as the conversation would go but Lily just ignored it.  
  
"Ebony's been locked up for days. She needs to get out. You and I both know that. Why can't you just accept the fact that you don't want me to go out alone! Stop being so protective. I can take care of myself!" Lily's voice started to rise with her anger.  
  
Again her mother glared but this time it wasn't as mean. Lily had been making the same argument for the past year and it was starting to wear her mother down. She could no longer use the excuse that Clayren needed a babysitter because Clayren was gone trying to court some of the men in the village half the time anyway. Sighing, her mother finally threw her hands up in surrender.  
  
"Alright you can go but don't stay out too late." Lily let out a whoop and dashed upstairs. She strapped her sword and quiver to her back. Pulling her hair back into a low ponytail she rushed out of her room and down the stairs almost crashing into her father.  
  
"Whoa! Keep running like that and you're liable to trample someone to death. Namely me," soft brown eyes twinkled back at her. The husky man before her grabbed her around the middle and pulled her into an enormous bear hug. Her adoptive father loved bear hugs mainly because he was so good at giving them. Lily liked them but Clayren hated them. It was no wonder that Lily was adopted. She and her family were nothing alike. Her parents had found her one-day off the shore of Lake Hylia. They decided to keep her when no one claimed her after a few months.  
  
"Sorry father," Lily panted when she had regained her breath. Lily pushed past her father and ran out the door to the stables. In one of the stalls stood a beautiful black mare. Lily had named her Ebony because of her coloring.  
  
"Hey Ebony," she crooned. " We're going out to Hyrule Field today and no Clayren this time." Ebony seemed to understand Lily and neighed her enjoyment. The horse hated the short sister of her rider. She always complained when they went out but today there would be no complaining. It would be just her and Lily.  
  
Lily quickly saddled Ebony and took her out of the stall. She swung into the saddle and the pair set off at a quick walk. They would have to pas through the town to get to the field and Lily didn't want to run anyone over if she put Ebony at a trot. Upon entering the village Lily spotted her sister flirting with her latest crush.  
  
The sixteen year olds dark brown hair was cut off in the latest fashion just below her shoulders. Her dress was a baby blue that bulged at the seams. Clayren was none too thin taking on both her mother's pudginess and her father's huskiness. Although she was defiantly not the prettiest girl in town men lined up trying to get her attention because she was fairly rich. The stable grounds out back were large enough for any man to want to be her husband. Lily always had men wanting to date her too but most went for Clayren because Lily turned all of them down.  
  
"Well, well, if it isn't the ugly duckling," Clayren cooed to her older sister. "I see that you want to take that dumb horse out for a walk. Well I'm not going!" She turned her back to Lily and almost fell over in her haste. Lily quickly stifled a laugh but let the smug grin stay on her face.  
  
"It's okay, Clayren. You don't have to go this time. Mother is finally letting me go on my own," she replied smugly. Lily had power over her sister now. Their parents never let them do anything on their own. At the remark Clayren spun around her mouth open.  
  
"You mean, I can stay in town by myself?"  
  
"No, mother wants you back home before they leave. She still doesn't trust you," Lily's grin became a wicked smile. She loved watching her sister's temper tantrums.  
  
"But that's not fair! You did this to me, you stupid bitch!" Clayren screamed. Lily started to chuckle. This was better than she thought it would be.  
  
"Blame me all you like but I've got to get going," Lily said calmly. She clucked to Ebony and the two set off. On the way out of the village Lily heard her name being called. She instantly recognized the voice and let out a frustrated sigh.  
  
"Lily! Wait for me!" the voice shouted. A young man came running up waving his hands in the air. One of them held a bouquet of roses. Lily stopped Ebony and swung her around to face the man. He stopped in front of her panting before he straightened up and slicked back his red hair.  
  
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" the man said trying to act cool.  
  
"Kiret, stop trying to court me and get a life! I don't want to marry you, I never have and never will so stop following me and leave me alone! If you decide to keep pestering me I'll cut out you're tongue and send it to your mother," Lily leaned down to shout in Kiret's ear.  
  
"Aww, come on. You know you want to date me. I'm the most popular guy in town. No self-respecting girl can resist my charm." His cheesy smile made Lily want to hurl.  
  
"They're not self-respecting. They're bimbos. I'm sure you and one of them will make a great couple someday. The ugliest, stupidest morons in the town! Now leave me alone," Lily yelled again. She pulled herself straight in the saddle again, turned her around, and kicked Ebony into a full gallop. She didn't care about being safe anymore. Kiret had ruined her good mood and she wanted to get out of town now. Once she had leapt the gate that blocked the entrance to Lake Hylia she let herself become one with Ebony. They galloped around like two carefree children in the large field. This was what Lily loved to do. To just come out here and be free.  
  
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Bad cutoff I know but I got a writers block. Oh well, if I feel like changing it later I'll come back and redo it but it's doubtful I'll even remember it's there. Anyways did you understand it? Does it make sense? Come on people don't leave me in the dark. (It scares me) 


	4. War

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Zelda characters but the ones that are of my creation are mine and I do own the rights to them.  
  
Chapter Three: War  
  
A knock was heard coming from the double doors of the conference room. The three men inside stood up. Alfred went and unlocked the doors letting the six people in the hall enter the room.  
  
The first to come in was a short chubby man with orange robes and white hair. There was a balding spot on the top of his head and his beard was short and neatly trimmed. This was Rauru, the Sage of Light.  
  
Following Rauru was a small child. Her green hair stuck out like a sore thumb. Her clothes were in the same fashion as Link's except she wore a green long sleeved shirt underneath the tunic. Her green eyes looked around in wonder. Saria, the Sage of the Forest, had never been to the castle. This would probably be her first and last time to see the magnificent stone building.  
  
After Saria, a young woman with long red hair in a high ponytail entered. She was tan from living in the desert her entire life. She wore the outfit of a gypsy with long pants the puffed out at the bottom. Her shirt was a belly shirt and showed her figure nicely. Nabooru, the Sage of Spirit, had blue eyes that darted around the room. Being a Gerudo thief she didn't like to box herself in one room.  
  
Stomping could be heard as the next person entered the room. The Goron was huge. Being the leader of his tribe he was the biggest. His upper body resembled that of a rock. His skin was a tannish color dotted with white spots. By the look of his spindly legs one would think that there was no way for them to hold him up. Darunia, the Sage of Fire, stomped into the room and took a seat beside Saria.  
  
Following Darunia, a young woman sat down beside Nabooru. One would have thought her beautiful. But she wasn't human. Her skin was a light turquoise that was spotted with flecks of a darker blue. She also had four eyes. Two were located in the normal position on her face. The other two were smaller and located on the back of her oval shaped head. She had flippers that hung from her arms and on her lower back. The woman was a Zora and the queen of them, too. Her name was Ruto, the Sage of Water.  
  
The final person to enter the room was a woman with white hair that was pulled back into a severe ponytail. She wore the armor of her people, the Sheikah. She was the Queen's old bodyguard and nurse. She was also known as Impa, the Sage of Shadow.  
  
When all the Sages had settled into their seats Link, Alfred, and Ian took theirs as well.  
  
"Where is Zelda? Shouldn't she be at this meeting? She is the Head of the Sages after all," Impa started out.  
  
"I'm going to talk to her later. Right now she's dealing with any courtiers who have gotten wind of this meeting. Though I'm hoping it's not a lot," Link said. Everyone at the table winced. They felt sorry for the Queen for having to deal with the courtiers even though she seemed to be very good at it.  
  
"Well, what are we here for? I'm assuming you didn't want to just have a chat about how we're all doing," Darunia inquired.  
  
"It would seem that the peaceful years that we have all enjoyed are ending rapidly. I received word this morning from a patrol off the eastern shore of Lake Hylia. They spotted a lost Tryul solider. Most of you know that recently we have not been on good terms with Tryul or Prince Darius. When the patrol captured the soldier and questioned him, he leaked information about the location of the Tryul army," Link said. Beside him Alfred looked grim as they watched the reactions of their guests.  
  
"So where is the location of the Tryul army?" Nabooru asked finally breaking the silence.  
  
"They're a day away from the town of Laver from last night." Link let the words sink in. Ruto's eyes were wide in shock. Saria didn't seem to understand what was going on. She couldn't quite fathom the possibility of an invasion. Darunia stared at the table studying the intricate patterns carved into the wood. Nabooru's mouth was set in an eerie frown while Impa and Rauru just looked at Link probing for more answers.  
  
"Ruto, I want you to evacuate all the Zora's to Kokiri Forest by means of the Lost Woods. They won't find you there and that will keep the Kokiri safe, too. If I'm right the army will pass right by the entrance due to the magic hiding it. Is that okay, Saria?" Link looked at his best friend sitting across from him.  
  
"Of course. We would never turn them down and especially not at a time like this."  
  
"Good. Darunia I don't know what to do with the Gorons. It's unlikely that the Tryul army will try to climb Death Mountain but it's a possibility so take precautions. If they make it to the summit try and evacuate your people in the same manner as the Zoras."  
  
Darunia just looked at Link in disbelief.  
  
"So you mean to run away. I thought you had more backbone than that brother!" he said.  
  
"I just want to make sure that everyone is safe. Until that happens I'm not even going to consider fighting back." Link glared back at his long time friend who finally nodded his head in defeat.  
  
"The Gerudos will fight." The simple sentence carried malice and hatred from the leader of the Gerudos. Her tight fist pounded on the table to make a point.  
  
"Nabooru, I understand how you feel but like I told Darunia I don't want anybody hurt. If we make a foolish stand now the Tryul army will wipe us out. They are preparing for an invasion not just a war over land. You can protect your fortress and stay where you are but don't go looking for trouble. Understand?" Link said flatly.  
  
Nabooru tried to stare him down but Link won in the end. He knew what he was doing.  
  
"Impa evacuate all the villages around Hyrule as soon as possible. Hylians travel slower than most of the other races. Rauru you can help in this, too."  
  
"And what of the people in Laver?" Rauru demanded.  
  
"The Zoras are going to have to help evacuate them. I can't get enough troops down there in time to protect the citizens and give them time to flee. That's why I'm counting on you Ruto."  
  
"Got it," the Zora replied.  
  
"As for the castle, we've got enough food and water to stave off a siege for the time being. As soon as all the citizens that can't fight are safe we'll work on a plan to defeat the enemy and drive them from our land. But until then I can't guarantee anything."  
  
Everyone nodded. They knew their jobs and what they had to do. War was once again about to be raged in Hyrule.  
  
"Well, let's get started. We don't have much time," Link stated standing up. Everyone followed suit. The Sages all hurried out of the room and prepared to leave the castle immediately. Alfred, Ian, and Link still stood in the conference room.  
  
"So do you think we'll win?" Ian asked his king.  
  
"We don't have a choice. We have to," Link answered with his mouth set in a grim frown. "I should go talk to Zelda and prepare the castle and market place for refugees. I'll see you two later." With that the king was gone. Alfred and Ian exchanged looks before they too left on chores that needed to be finished.  
  
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Sound's good doesn't it. Next chapter we will meet the enemy and the war begins! But the suspense just keeps right on coming because what will happen to our heroine Lily and the town of Laver? * holds breath * Sorry, can't tell ya! 


	5. Enemy

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Zelda characters but the ones that are of my creation are mine and I do own the rights to them.  
  
  
  
Chapter Four: Enemy  
  
Prince Darius strolled through the camp at a leisurely pace. He was a tall handsome man and that combined with the fact that he was a prince made him irresistible to women. His black hair was short and stylish. The black of his hair completely accented his baby blue eyes. Darius was muscular and trained in the arts of battle. He was also cunning, ruthless, and smart. If you wanted to describe him in just one word that word would be dangerous. Darius knew how to use people to get his way. He got anything and everything he wanted. Everything that is except for one princess of Hyrule.  
  
Soon after Ganondorf had been sealed away in the Sacred Realm, Darius had gone to court princess Zelda. Her kingdom was the largest in the region as well as the wealthiest. Darius had been very (I use very as an understatement) put off when she chose some backwater Hylian to be her husband. Fuming he had gone home in a rage and started tearing up his rooms. Darius smiled at the memory. If Zelda hadn't refused him he would have never found the most perfect weapon to use against his enemies.  
  
In a fit of rage, Darius had thrown a chair at the wall. The sound the wall made when it hit wasn't a dull thunk muted by the stones but a hollow ping that proved the wall was a fake. Searching carefully Darius had managed to find the secret door in the wall. Inside there was a small chamber that held only a bookcase. The books it held though were ancient spell books used in the olden days to cast spells. Many of the books contained spells in the arts of Dark magic. Going through the books Darius soon came upon one of the most powerful spells in the world. The power to call on the gods themselves.  
  
Very intrigued to see whether it worked or not Darius set up the spell and called upon the gods. He had expected to be greeted by on of the three goddesses that had created the world. They were the only gods he knew of. He was pleasantly surprised when a much darker god, Space, greeted him. The name suited him perfectly for that's what he was. Space was the god of the Emptiness. Darius wondered why Space had come to him and so he asked. It turned out that Space wanted the Emptiness back. When the goddesses that had created the world came into being there had been a war between the two sides. Unfortunately for Space the goddesses won and created the world destroying the Emptiness. That was why Space needed Darius.  
  
To regain the peace and quiet of the Emptiness, the world needed to fall to shadow. He had tried several years ago with another agent but he was defeated. Darius was curious as to what he could do and again asked the dark god. Space seemed to grin even though none of his face could be seen. It was just a feeling that Darius had gotten. Space explained to Darius that for the world to fall into shadow the Temple of Time that housed the Master Sword must be destroyed. The seal between Hyrule and Sacred Realm would rip and once again the world would fall to the Emptiness. Of course Darius would be head of the world and all the minions he wanted. Space promised Darius help in an invasion of Hyrule by giving Darius magic to confuse his opponents. Darius agreed instantly. He would get revenge on Hyrule and rule the world all in one blow. It was everything he wanted.  
  
Darius was thrown from his reflection when a Captain came running up.  
  
"Sire, sundown is upon us. When do we leave for the attack on Laver?" the Captain asked nervously. Something about the Prince made him edgy but he wasn't quite sure what it was.  
  
"We leave now. Send out the Fourth and Fifth Platoons to start the first wave. Second wave will consist of Tenth and Fifteenth platoons. For such a small town that's all we should need. The attack starts at the midnight. Understood!" Prince Darius ordered.  
  
"Yes, sir!" The Captain threw up a hasty salute before turning around and hurrying off. He didn't want to have to be with the Prince any longer than he had to.  
  
"Everything is going according to plan, Master," Darius muttered under his breath. An icy breeze brushed his ear as if to answer him. Darius shivered before heading to his tent.  
  
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Yes it's short but what do you want me to do. I hope you understand more or less about Space and if you don't just ask. I tried to make it as clear as possible but half the time the things that I'm thinking don't come out right on paper. 


	6. Warning in the Night

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Zelda characters but the ones that are of my creation are mine and I do own the rights to them.  
Chapter Five: Warning in the Night  
  
Lily came into to town cursing under her breath. She had stayed out late and now her mother was going to kill her. It happened every time she went out to Hyrule Field. She always lost track of time and would almost always come in late. Normally it wouldn't be so bad because Clayren was there to remind her that it was almost sundown. Lily snickered to herself. Clayren was still afraid of the dark or at least when she wasn't at home. Lily kept wandering down the narrow streets of Laver trying to figure out what time it was. Lights were still on in most of the houses. That was lucky for her. It meant she wasn't too late.  
  
At the house Lily's mother stamped her foot impatiently. Dinner had been over for almost a half an hour now and Lily still wasn't home. That girl had too much of a mind of her own. Turning her back to the door she continued on with the dishes that sat in the sink, grumbling to herself. She immediately spun around when she heard the front door open softly.  
  
Lily stood in the hall and closed the door slowly behind her, trying not to make any noise. Once it was shut she started to tip toe down the hall and towards the stairs.  
  
"LILY KIRSTEN LAVER! Where HAVE you been?!"  
  
Lily froze in her tracks, as her mother's voice almost seemed to echo throughout the house. Clayren came flying out of her room and stood at the top of the stairs. She grinned evilly down at her sister just waiting to see her get in trouble. Lily smiled sweetly at Clayren. She was prepared.  
  
Walking into to the kitchen, she stuck out her hand, which was holding paper bag.  
  
"Sorry I'm late mother. But I stopped by at the General Store to pick up some more oil for the lamps. You told me earlier this morning that we were running low. The line was real long, too. I'm really sorry," Lily said as genuinely as she could. The fact of the matter was that she had picked up the oil this morning to surprise her mother but forgot about it when her mother said she could go out onto Hyrule Field alone.  
  
Lily's mother smiled sweetly and took the bag to make sure that it did indeed contain lamp oil. Turning to her daughter she pulled her into a tight hug.  
  
"I'm sorry for yelling at you dear. You're just so responsible. I'm glad you thought to pick this up," she said.  
  
"Umm. . . could I have some dinner then?"  
  
"Why of course, honey. Have as much as you'd like?" Lily's mother put the bag on the counter and went back to washing the dishes. Lily took a plate and started to spoon leftovers onto it. Getting a mug she poured some milk into it and headed upstairs while her mother whistled happily to herself thinking about her grown up little girl. At the top of the steps Clayren sneered at Lily.  
  
"Suck up!" she snarled.  
  
"I may be a suck up but at least I didn't get in trouble which means I can go anywhere on my own still," Lily retorted. She entered her room and slammed the door. Clayren stood watching the door fuming to herself. Lily was the golden child in the family. She worked hard and always knew what to get her mother to please her. She never bought anything she didn't need while Clayren spent all her money on dresses and perfumes. Their mother wanted Clayren to help with the horses a little bit more but nothing she said ever helped. Clayren stomped her feet and shuffled into to her room closing the door behind her.  
~*~Later That Night~*~  
  
Lily tossed and turned in her sleep. Moans issued from her mouth as she tried to escape the evil in her dreams. She sat up suddenly with sweat flying from her face. Her breath came in short shallow gasps as she tried to get some air back into her lungs. She wasn't quite sure what had woken her up but it wasn't whatever was chasing her in her dreams. She had tried several times to wake herself up earlier but it hadn't worked. Whatever had woken her up came from this world and not the dream world.  
  
Lily climbed out of bed untwisting herself from the sheets that had tried to strangle her. Quickly she got dressed in her training clothes and strapped her sword and shield to her back. Picking up her quiver and bow she stepped outside her room. She didn't know why she had gotten dressed but something had definitely compelled her to do it. Tonight was just getting stranger and stranger.  
  
At the top of the stairs she met Clayren who had also been awakened from her so-called 'beauty sleep'. They looked at each other in disgust wondering what the other was wearing. Over Clayren's thin nightgown she wore a fuzzy pink bathrobe that Lily assumed was supposed to be a fashion statement. Lily herself wore a pair of brown baggy breeches and a loose white shirt. Her leather boots were worn and comfortable.  
  
Down below their parents had opened the door and were talking urgently to somebody. The girls watched as their mother nearly fainted in their father's arms. Lily ran down the steps and helped her father set her mother on the floor. She looked at the open door and was surprised to find a young Zora male standing there.  
  
"You must hurry! They're on their way. You must leave town now!" the Zora stated urgently.  
  
Lily stood up and faced the Zora before asking, "Who's coming?"  
  
"The Tryul army is preparing an invasion of Hyrule and everyone needs to leave immediately! They could be here any minute. Leave everything behind." Once he was finished with his piece the Zora turned around and started off towards another house. Lily turned to her father and did some quick thinking.  
  
"Father get mother and Clayren out of here on Ebony. I'm going to go help warn people." Without waiting for an answer Lily ran out the door and chased the Zora down. He had just finished visiting the next house and was on his way to another. Lily ran up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder spinning him around.  
  
"This isn't some stupid joke, is it? The Tryul army is really on its way here?" Lily demanded. The words came out in a flurry and the Zora just stared at her for a moment, shifting uncomfortably.  
  
"Yes they're on their way here. We are to help everyone evacuate. This isn't a joke or we wouldn't be pressed so hard by the queen of the Zoras." Lily stared at the Zora in shock. She couldn't believe this was really happening. She had been hoping it was some joke but she knew better than to think that the princess of the Zoras would pull a prank like this. Setting her mouth in a determined frown, Lily starred for the next house on the street. It just happened to be Kiret's house.  
  
The door opened on the first knock the Lily gave to wooden door. Kiret's face peeked out with an alarmed look.  
  
"Kiret get your mother and father out of bed and get out of Laver now! The Tryul army is going to attack soon! You have to get out of here," Lily babbled.  
  
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Is this some kind of joke? Because if it is, it's a really sick joke!" Kiret retorted.  
  
"This isn't a joke, Kiret! I don't have time to argue with you. I need to go warn other people. You can believe me or not but this isn't a joke!" Lily pleaded. As much as she thought Kiret was a slimy toad she didn't think that he deserved to die at the hands of the Tryul army. Lily turned her back on the young man and jogged down the street. She paused for a moment when she heard the bell in the steeple of the church start to ring.  
  
She counted the rings to herself, knowing instantly that it was a bad sign. She wasn't sure why it was a bad sign but she could feel it in her heart. One. . .Two. . .Three. . .Four. . .Five. . .Six. . .Seven. . .Eight. . .Nine. . .Ten. . .Eleven. . .Twelve. Roaring filled her ears as she glimpsed torches running straight for the village. Hundreds of feet pounded the ground so hard the earth vibrated with their presence. Masked heads could picked out in the wavering firelight from the torches they carried. The stench of sweat filled the air and was soon mingled with the smell of blood. The enemy was here.  
  
Cursing to herself Lily pulled an arrow from her quiver and strung her bow. She took aim for the nearest charging soldier and let her arrow fly.  
  
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He he. Like the cliffhanger? Well I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up because no one seems to be taking an interest in this story. I'll still write it of course but if no one shows interest than updating will be a lot slower. 


	7. Midnight Attack

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Zelda characters but the ones that are of my creation are mine and I do own the rights to them.  
  
  
  
Chapter Six: Midnight Attack  
  
Blood spurted from the fatal wound in the soldier's chest. The arrow Lily had shot struck home. The man fell to the ground with a surprised gurgle. Some of his comrades looked down at the bloody corpse on the ground with shocked faces. No one had expected much of a fight from the villagers. The rapid attack had caught them off guard.  
  
Ignoring the soldiers that stood around, Lily quickly strung her bow again and loosed another arrow at the army. One more soldier fell to the ground dead. She fired shot after shot from her quiver, each time taking down another man from the group. One of the upper officers spotted her in the dark and sent out a small force to take her down while the rest of the soldiers set about burning the town to the ground.  
  
Lily instantly saw the small force headed her way. She quickly drew another arrow and fired. This time she was able to take out two in one shot. One of the men and been running right behind another and when the arrow that Lily had loosed went through the first man's neck the second man became the target. Man after man of the small group fell until there was nothing left. Lily started again to rag at the main force but she knew it was a losing battle. With each man that she took down two more took his place, anger written clearly on their faces. If it hadn't been for the higher officer's orders to start torching the buildings Lily assumed that many men might have charged her.  
  
All around her the screams of dying people filled her ears. Some of the Zoras seemed to be fighting back but they soon fell to the massive numbers they were up against. The army steadily made its way through the town. Lily was on the far end since she had had no time to warn people farther down the street. Smoke filled the air and started to burn her eyes. With each arrow she fired the army grew closer to her, their pounding footsteps a clear warning sign to her.  
  
Lily reached back for another arrow from her quiver and discovered that she had run out. Quickly, she put her bow in its rightful resting place around her neck and over her back and pulled her sword out of the sheath on her back. The thin blade glimmered in the fire from the burning buildings around her and reflected the light back giving it an eerie glow. Turning, the woman looked back towards her house to make sure that her family had left. To her horror Lily discovered that a second wave was already starting towards her house. She heard screams issue from inside that were cut short and the shattering of glass as soldiers broke the windows. Men with torches emerged from behind others and set the house ablaze.  
  
Lily's scream pierced the air around her like a knife through butter. Tears coursed down her face at the pain she felt in her heart. Her family was dead. It was a fact she didn't want to face. There was still the possibility that the screams she had heard hadn't been real.  
  
Taking her shield from her back, Lily charged the second wave of men roaring at the top of her lungs. The first few men fell easily under her trained strokes. She cut through the soldiers desperately trying to reach her house. There had to be somebody alive. Anybody. With each swing of her sword another man fell but the long night and the lack of sleep was starting to tell on Lily's body. Her sword grew heavier and heavier until it was a struggle to even hold it in her tight grip. Cuts and scrapes gushed blood and her clothes were torn and dirty. Each step that she took felt like her last but she battled on. Each soldier that she faced took longer and longer to kill but still she battled on. Around her bodies lay and it was almost impossible to step somewhere without trampling on the corpse of the dead.  
  
A sharp pain in Lily's back showed that more men had arrived and were surrounding her. Grinning faces leered at her through the smoky haze that was filling her mind. She knew she couldn't fight for much longer. There was no way for her to stay alive with the sheer numbers that were overpowering her.  
  
Suddenly all the men were looking elsewhere. They had stopped in the midst of jumping Lily to stare at something to her left. Lily from her kneeled position on the ground panted and heaved trying to catch her breath. When she noticed that no one was trying to kill her, she followed the stares and found a young Zora male fighting his way through the pack trying to reach her. His fins had become whirling blades that he used with expertise. In his hands he clutched two short daggers that killed anyone before they came too close. Soon he vanquished all the foes that stood in his way. Lily recognized the Zora as the messenger that had warned her family.  
  
Thoughts of her family made Lily look at the burning house in front of her. The whole house was up in flames. There was no way that anyone would have made it out alive. Lily accepted that fact grudgingly. She wasn't one to keep false hope. Turning to the Zora beside her she mumbled her thanks.  
  
"No problem, but you did pretty well yourself," was his only answer. Lily slumped to the ground watching her childhood home burn to the ground. There was nothing she could do now. No where that she could go. She was alone. Her family was dead and she might as well be, too.  
  
Lily was pulled from her thoughts when the Zora grasped her arms and hauled her to her feet. He didn't say a word but started to pull her towards Lake Hylia's edge. Lily took the hind and followed him. The two stealthily crept through the village. They took the back streets making sure that no one saw them. When they did finally reach the water the Zora started into the lake but Lily stopped.  
  
"Shouldn't we try and save anyone else?" she whispered urgently. She still had faith that there were people alive in the village. "There is no one that survived but you. We Zoras were so worried about evacuating our own people that we did not arrive in the village until it was too late. Many Zoras died tonight but we must make haste if we are to still escape."  
  
The Zora didn't turn around when he spoke. Lily could tell that the Zora felt guilty over the village's loss.  
  
"Hey! There's a girl an' one of them fish thingies over here!"  
  
The harsh cry rang through the night alerting every soldier to their presence. The Zora spun around and grabbed Lily's hand pulling her into the water after him. The stone under their feet kept the water from rising above their heads. It was a memorial built by the Zoras years ago but had been destroyed in the first war against the Gerudos.  
  
"When I tell you, take a huge breath and don't let it out. We're going to take the shortcut to Zora's Domain." The sounds of pursuing feet came closer as the two struggled against the lake's incoming tide. Lily let out a yelp when she suddenly plunged into the icy cold water. They had left the memorial and were now sitting ducks in the lake.  
  
"NOW!" the Zora cried. Lily sucked in a big breath of air and felt herself being tugged down to the bottom of the lake by the Zora. Blackness engulfed her vision as she went further and further from the surface. She felt a pain in her ears as the pressure of the water started to bear down on her. Lily was quickly running out of air and she started to become light headed. Bubbles issued from her mouth when Lily could no longer hold her breath. She could feel the Zora tugging her in a straight line now instead further down but Lily had no sense of direction beneath the murky surface of Lake Hylia.  
  
Suddenly an odd feeling passed through her body. She knew it must be from the lack of oxygen that her brain and blood were receiving. Her fingers were numb and she was deathly cold. The Zora in front of her started to feel her dead weight and headed straight for the surface. Lily could feel the change in direction and tried as hard as she could to reach the surface. She just had to. She couldn't just die now not when she was so close to feeling air in her lungs again.  
  
Her head broke the surface of the water with a splash. For a minute she just let the Zora hold her as she took in several needed gulps of air. She was surprised when her feet hit the ground and she was able to stand up again. She hadn't realized the Zora was pulling her towards the shore.  
  
Crawling on to the beach of what she thought was the lakeshore Lily flopped onto her stomach and didn't move for a while. She just didn't have the strength. Her breathing was deep as she promised herself that she would never take the air that she breathed for granted again.  
  
Finally she put her hands beneath her and pushed herself over so that now she was lying on her back. Gasping, Lily took in her surroundings. The ceiling was made of a blue stone that reflected the surface of the water. On either side of her the same blue stone shimmered where staircases and dwellings had been carved out of the rock. Sitting up she found herself staring at a magnificent waterfall.  
  
"We should get out of here," the Zora said. He held out a hand to the blond teenager in front of him, which she took.  
  
"Where are we going? Where are all the Zoras? Shouldn't there be more here? What's your name? Why did the Tryul army attack us? Why didn't you tell the village sooner? Why-," Lily was suddenly cut off as the Zora began to chuckle.  
  
"I don't see anything funny about the situation that we're in." Lily glared at the young Zora crossing her arms over her chest.  
  
"What's so funny is that you just recovered from almost drowning and now you suddenly have enough air to ask so many questions."  
  
Lily blushed at his reply. She was only making a fool of herself by panicking. She knew that it would only make the situation worse.  
  
"Anyways, my name is Suba and the Zoras have already been evacuated. Anybody that made it through the doorway we passed through has already gone to the Lost Woods by way of the pool outside the entrance of Zora's Domain. That's where we're going as soon as you're done asking questions, though I suggest they wait until after we reach the Lost Woods. The Tryul army is already looking for us and may find the door here any minute."  
  
Lily stared at Suba for a moment before sticking out her hand. It caught him completely unawares. Here they were sitting ducks, and she was acting weird. He supposed it was because she was in shock over the loss of her family.  
  
"Well, Suba it's nice to meet you. My name is Lily and you're completely right about saving the questions for later. So let's get going." Taking Suba's hand she shook it firmly before spinning around and heading away. He soon lost sight of her as she turned a corner. Sighing, Suba stood still for a minute. Approaching footsteps could be heard thirty seconds later.  
  
"Umm. . .where exactly are we going again?" Lily asked with a sheepish grin on her face. Suba merely chuckled and led the way out of Zora's Domain.  
  
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Phew! Chapter Six finally done. For anyone who is actually reading this (shame on you for not reviewing) I put this aside for a while when I lost the spark. I also had problems with my computer so that I had trouble logging in for a while. It pissed me off so much but it's all in the past. Anyways, in the next chapter Lily will come to grips with her family's death and head off on a mission. That's all I can say. 


	8. The Mission

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Zelda characters but the ones that are of my creation are mine and I do own the rights to them.  
  
Chapter Seven: The Mission  
  
Lily awoke to the sweet smell of breakfast. Glancing around she took in the surrounding area that had become her new home. The soft grass underneath her provided a soft bed and the nights were cool so she only needed one blanket. She sat in a large clearing that was walled in with the thick trunks of trees. Overhead the sky was clear blue with a few small clouds that floated by. Everywhere you could find the presence of life. Plants sprouted wherever they could, trying to reach the sun.  
  
Lily let out a small gas as a bowl of steaming soup was suddenly pushed under her nose.  
  
"Stop gawking like you've never seen this place and eat. Today's the day you leave remember," Suba reminded her. Lily took the bowl and ate in silence. The soup reminded her of her mother's cooking which lead her to thinking about her mother and the rest of her family. Pretty soon memories would cascade through her mind like a waterfall and that would turn her into a bawling baby when she remembered their horrible deaths.  
  
Suba looked up when he stopped hearing the soft clack of a wooden spoon against a wooden bowl. The sight was not unfamiliar to him. Lily sat staring at the ground with tears running down her face. Suba sighed and stood up. He knew that she was grieving for her family but he had to snap her out of it. She had a mission to complete.  
  
Walking over to her, Suba put his hands on Lily's shoulders and began to shake her violently. Lily snapped out of her trance and returned to reality. Suba took her wet face in his hands and made sure that she was looking at him.  
  
"Lily, you've got to stop this! I know how you feel, believe me, but you've got something more important to worry about. If you don't make it to the castle by the end of the week, this country could die out. The Tryul army is on the move again and if you don't warn the king they're coming, everything could be destroyed," Suba said. He watched her face as his words sunk in.  
  
Lily's mind was in a confused state. Half coherent thoughts surfaced in her brain only to sink back into the dark recesses of her mind that she dared not go into. In the inky blackness that covered a part of her mind was the truth she did not want to face. She could tell that it was not only the truth hiding in the murkiness that protected her brain's own secrets. There was something else there. There always had been. At the moment, though, the only thing that she could think of was that her family was dead. Unfortunately there was more to it than that. Her family was not her real family. She was adopted. Another thought surfaced. Then maybe my real family is alive and I can still find a home. This bubble of an idea was quickly popped as she realized that if she didn't warn the king she wouldn't have a home to find. "Lily? Hello, anybody there?" Suba's voice broke the barrier that Lily hadn't even known she'd put up.  
  
"I'm fine Suba," Lily finally answered.  
  
"So, then you'll do it?"  
  
"Of course, I'll do it but why does it have to be me? And why do I have to warn the king doesn't he have scouts?"  
  
Suba was surprised by the logic coming out of the young woman in front of him. She hadn't said a word to him or anyone else for that matter since they had entered the Lost Woods. Now here she was protesting against the mission that had been laid out for her. Suba had expected some sort of protest from her but not one that was so logical.  
  
Sighing he took her bowl and dumped her unfinished soup back into an iron pot that was hanging over a small fire.  
  
"I suppose I should take you to see the queen. She might be able to explain this to you better. I just brought you here and helped you recover. They want me to explain everything, too but I don't have answers for questions like that."  
  
"So why were you chosen to do it?" Lily asked, standing up. She brushed her new green breeches off and helped the Zora up.  
  
"I dunno. They just did," Suba explained shrugging his shoulders. Lily could have sworn she had seen an angry expression cross his face, though. Suba picked up breakfast while Lily packed up her gear. In the week she had been recovering she had managed to find some more arrows, so her quiver was full. With her sword strapped to her back and her bow in her hand, Lily followed Suba out of the clearing.  
  
Lily had only been through the Lost Woods once. Since she had been staying in the Sacred Forest Meadow there hadn't been a need for her to leave. In the other clearings that were connected by hollow tree stumps there was hardly even any place to walk. The area was packed to the maximum with two different species.  
  
The Gorons and the Zoras seemed to get along pretty well even though they were completely different. They all seemed to understand the circumstances. Lily could only wonder why Suba and her were the only ones staying in the Sacred Forest Meadow. There was a lot of open space in that area of the forest.  
  
"Excuse me! Sorry! Coming through!" Suba shouted making his way through the crowd. Finally the two were able to make it out of the Lost Woods and into Kokiri Forest. Lily gasped at the beautiful sight before her. A large clearing in the middle of the forest was inhabited by several tree houses. Smoke curled up from the top of the thick trunks that were big enough to house a family of three. Little kids scurried around in green tunics and shorts. Lily had seen some of them in the crowd of people in the Lost Woods.  
  
Suba led the way down a grassy hill that led in to the small village inhabited by the children. As they walked through several of the Kokiri stopped to watch the two intruders pass by. They passed the tree houses and a store. Crossing a shallow stream, Lily and Suba were stopped from entering a narrow passage by a fierce little boy with brown hair. His green clothes seemed to be made of better material than his fellow Kokiri's. There also seemed to be an air of authority about him.  
  
"Halt! No one is allowed to enter the Deku Tree's Meadow except the three Sages!" he stated officially. He jabbed his dagger at Suba threateningly. Lily rolled her eyes before she grabbed the child by his shirt collar. She held him up until his face was directly in front of hers.  
  
"Listen munchkin! I don't have time for this so I suggest you step aside," Lily hissed. The boy gulped and his eyes became wide with fear. She dropped him none too gently on the ground and headed down the passage. Suba glanced at the boy before he followed his newfound friend.  
  
"You didn't have to be THAT mean, you know," Suba said quietly.  
  
"The boy obviously gives himself airs because he's the head of the village. He deserved it," Lily stated flatly. Suba was shocked at Lily's revelation and her skills of observation. It was quite obvious that she didn't miss much.  
  
They walked along in silence until the path started to open up. The passage led out into a gigantic clearing. At the far end stood a very old tree that seemed to be dead and decaying. The leaves that should have been dense and green were scattered and yellow. The trunk was thick but very old. In front of the dead tree stood another one that had the same shape but was only half the size of the tree behind it. Its leaves were green and thick and the bark was young with color. Three people stood before the younger tree and seemed to be deep in discussion. They were a Zora, a Goron, and a Kokiri.  
  
Lily immediately started towards them with Suba following reluctantly behind. It was obvious that he didn't want to be here though Lily didn't have a clue why. As they approached, the three turned towards them.  
  
"Suba, what are you doing here?" the Zora asked.  
  
"Lily has some questions about the mission that she's supposed to go on."  
  
"Really, why didn't you answer them? As the next Sage of Water you're going to have to stop depending on me for answers," Ruto said with a stern voice.  
  
"Well, excuse me if she had some questions that I don't have the answers to," Suba shot back.  
  
"Don't take that tone of voice with me young man! Just because you are an adult no does not mean that you can disobey me," Ruto retorted. Suba bowed his head and grumbled to himself under his breath.  
  
"Now then what's your question?" Ruto asked sweetly. Lily stopped looking at Suba and turned to the ruler of the Zoras.  
  
"Actually I have a few questions. First is why do I have to go? Why can't it be a Zora or a Goron?" Lily asked.  
  
"The reason that you should go is because you won't have anyone to talk to here. Plus you wouldn't stick out. You can hide from the enemy's eyes with our help, and from what my son here tells me, you take care of yourself in a fight. That's why it should be you," Ruto explained. Lily nodded her head and glanced at Suba. That was why he didn't want to be here. Ruto was his mother, which meant that he was the prince of the Zoras.  
  
"That makes sense. Okay then, my second question is why I have to warn the king? Doesn't he have scouts?"  
  
"A good question. Unfortunately, the king does not want to lose any civilian lives so he is putting all his manpower into protecting them by making sure that everyone is inside the castle walls. Then he is using whomever he can get to help guard the walls when the army arrives."  
  
"He didn't do anything about Laver," Lily snapped bitterly.  
  
"We knew too little too late. There was nothing we could have done," Ruto said sadly.  
  
"Whatever. My last question is why is there no one staying in the Sacred Forest Meadow? It's so crowded every where else but there's so much more space there." The Kokiri stepped out and bowed her head in respect towards Ruto.  
  
"My name is Saria and I'm the Sage of Forest. This is actually another reason we chose to send you and it happened quite by accident. You see only the Sages and the Hero of Time are allowed to enter the Sacred Forest Meadow. Suba is permitted because he is the next Sage of Water. When you were brought into the Lost Woods, both you and Suba were very weary from you battle. Suba took you to the meadow without even considering the possibility that you would not be able to enter. He only realized it the next morning when he woke up. Suba came and told us immediately about you. We didn't know what to make or it but we decided that you would be the perfect person to warn the king," the little girl explained.  
  
"Don't worry!" a giant voice behind Saria boomed. The Sage of Fire, Darunia, stepped forward. "You will be provided with everything you will need before we kick you out!" Darunia gave off a hearty laugh and slapped Lily on the back nearly knocking her to the ground.  
  
"Thanks," she said, rubbing her back.  
  
"You should make sure you've got everything you need before you leave," a new voice called out. Lily tried to locate the owner but there was no one behind the three Sages.  
  
"Umm. . .I've got everything I need," Lily called out randomly. She waited for an answer and was surprised to find that the speaker was the tree.  
  
"Are you sure?" the tree asked her. His small beady eyes and thin mouth were barely visible but they were there.  
  
"It talks!" she cried. She backed up and nearly stumbled into Suba.  
  
"Of course I talk. I'm the Deku Tree, protector of Kokiri Forest. Now, are you sure you've got everything?" the tree sighed with exasperation.  
  
"Y-Yes," Lily stammered. "All I need is some clothes on my back, my bow and arrows, and my sword."  
  
"Well in that case you can leave as soon as we give you some food and a cloak that will help you to blend in with the scenery. Remember you have to make it to the castle by the end of the week so that the king has time to prepare for the attack," Darunia said solemnly. Lily nodded her head and she and Suba left the clearing and made their way back to the Sacred Forest Meadow. On the way back both the Zora and the woman were silent as they both had several things to think on.  
  
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Yes! Another chapter done! I suppose it's a little bit boring but if you were about to go out on a mission that was very important you would be asking some questions, too. I also thought this would be a nice way to foreshadow some events later on and to explain a few things.  
  
Now I have one question for you readers out there. Is anyone at all reading this? All you have to do is send me one, ONE, review that says hi just so I know that there are actually people reading this. I'll still keep writing if you don't but chapters will come a lot faster if you do. 


	9. Moonless Night

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Zelda characters but the ones that are of my creation are mine and I do own the rights to them.  
  
Chapter Eight: Moonless Night  
  
A middle-aged woman sat on some stone steps at the back of her beautiful garden. Her blond hair was wavy and went down past her shoulders. Clear blue eyes stared over a small finely cut nose. Her stubborn chin was cupped in her small hands that rested on her knees. The dress she wore was simple and the only thing that told anyone who she was was the thin silver circlet around her forehead.  
  
This woman was Queen Zelda of Hyrule. She sighed as she watched the soft breeze play with the grass at the base of the steps. She had heard the news about the Tryul army making its way towards the castle from her husband, Link. Immediately she had wanted to send out troops to protect the small town of Laver but Link had said that the news was at least a week old. He explained that he hadn't known how to tell her.  
  
Now people were gathering to the castle seeking refuge. People had been evacuated from their homes in hopes of making a stand at the castle. Another sigh escaped Zelda's lips and she closed her eyes.  
  
And image behind her eyelids suddenly shimmered into view. It was a picture of three golden triangles set up so that they formed a bigger triangle. It was the Triforce. Suddenly her mind's eye started to zoom in on the Triforce until all that could be seen was the empty triangle that was framed in a golden glow. Zelda's brow furrowed as she tried to interpret the image that was now fading. There was no doubt in her mind that this was a prophecy that had been sent to her but it didn't make sense at all. The Triforce was obviously involved which meant that both she and Link were involved as well.  
  
"Mother!" a loud voice broke through Zelda's concentration and the fading image disappeared completely. A tall youth with blond hair like his parent's walked into the garden. "Father says you need to stop brooding and come to dinner. It's not going to do you any good just thinking about it."  
  
Zelda smiled at her son as he helped her up. Together they walked through the halls towards the dinning room. They entered and found Link already sitting down at the long wooden table. They too sat down in their proper places and gazed at the delicious food in front of them. A steaming roast was in the center surrounded by bowls of corn, carrots, and some potatoes. Zelda could feel her mouth watering but she didn't start to eat. Link and her son hadn't started either.  
  
"Tearen, where's your brother?" Zelda asked. "I don't think I can wait for him much longer. I'm hungry." Tearen looked at his mother and shrugged his shoulders.  
  
"Well, I don't see why we have to wait on Saith. He's always late for one reason or another so I say we dig in," Link said as he reached for some of the roast. He quickly withdrew his hand with a small protest as Zelda smacked his hand.  
  
"We are going to wait for him, whether you like it or not," Zelda said sternly. She was a stickler for tradition.  
  
Running footsteps could be heard a few minutes later. A tall youth rushed through the entryway of the room. His sandy blond hair was cut short and his blue eyes matched the rest of his family's. His muscles could clearly be seen through his red tunic. Unlike his little brother Tearen, he was a competent swordsman like his father. Tearen spent most of his days reading up on the laws of the kingdom.  
  
"Saith, where have you been? You know we eat dinner at this time so why are you always late?" Zelda said chastising her son.  
  
"Ian was showing me how he's setting up the defenses for the castle." Saith sat down and started to fill his plate. The rest of his family soon followed suit. Talk was quiet that evening. Everyone had something on their minds.  
  
Zelda was trying to decipher the message that had been sent to her that evening. Tearen was mentally thrashing his older brother. Saith could always get away with anything if he said it had anything to do with his training. Since he was going to be the next king he got to do anything he wanted. Tearen didn't think that Saith would make a very good king but there was nothing he could do about it. Link was trying to picture where the Tryul army was at the moment. He hadn't gotten a message from any of the Sages on the position of the army. The messenger should have arrived at the palace by now.  
  
Saith was thinking about his plan to get out of the palace tonight. He didn't want to stay and wait for the army to arrive. Instead he wanted to find the army now so that they could get the war over with. He didn't like waiting. In that respect he supposed he was like his father. He laughed to himself. He was surprised that his father had even taken the job of being king. From what his mother told him his father was just like himself. Saith had no desire to be king. All he wanted to do was go out on adventures. Why couldn't he have been the younger son? Tearen was just the sort of person to run a kingdom while he knew he would only screw things up.  
  
Saith sighed to himself and quickly finished his meal. He still had to get ready.  
  
"Mother? May I be excused?" Saith asked politely.  
  
"Of course, dear." Saith pushed back his chair and walked out of the dining hall.  
  
"Does he seem to be acting weird?" Link asked his wife.  
  
"It's probably because he's a teenager," Zelda replied shrugging her shoulders. Everybody turned back to their meal.  
  
  
  
~*~ Out on Hyrule Field~*~  
  
A shadowy figure stumbled along through the darkness of the night. There was no moon out and the figure tripped several times. A sneeze issued from their nose and they were pulled forward towards the ground.  
  
Lily moaned on the hard earth as she tried to pick herself up. The sword on her back made the task nearly impossible. She pulled her cloak tighter around body and started to make her way north again.  
  
The grass underneath her feet was spinning and she felt light headed. Both feet were like blocks of lead and with every step she took they became harder and harder to lift. She was so cold that she felt like an icicle. Her nose was running and she knew that she had a fever but she put everything aside. She had to make it to the castle. She just had to.  
  
~One more step, just one more step~ Lily kept thinking to herself. It was all she could do to keep from collapsing on the spot. Suddenly the sound of horse's hoofs came to her ears. They sounded distant but they were rapidly approaching her. Lily willed her arms to move for her sword but they didn't move. Instead she just peered through the darkness in the direction of the noise hoping to spot them before they spotted her.  
  
Out of the gloom that was both the tiredness she was feeling and the darkness around her, came a horse as black as midnight and just as swift. For some reason Lily felt like she had seen this horse before. The rider on top was even more surprising than the horse. He was dressed in black and had a mask that covered every feature on his face except for his blue eyes. Quickly, he dismounted and drew his sword.  
  
"Who are you?" he demanded in a low voice.  
  
Lily just kept on staring at him like a thunderstruck deer. The words he had spoken echoed in her mind. They had no meaning to her and were just sounds coming from that strange piece of black clothe that moved. The man shifted in and out of her vision as the colors of the night started to blend together.  
  
The man edged closer to the woman that stood before him. Her hair was disheveled and dirty. Her green eyes were cloudy and didn't seem to be taking in anything in front of her. He watched as she shivered when a slight breeze brushed her cheeks that were so flushed it was noticeable in the moonless night.  
  
"Must. . .I must. . .get to the. . ." Lily's voice faded to a whisper. Her strength left her. She pitched forwards towards the man in front of her as she fell into the dark recesses of her mind that threatened to devour her.  
  
The man heard the woman's words and watched as she fell towards him. He caught her easily in his grip before her head could hit the ground. She was shivering uncontrollably and her skin was hot to the touch. Grunting he threw her over his shoulder and headed back to his mount.  
  
The horse nuzzled the unconscious woman as the man leaned her against the horse's side so that he could put his sword away.  
  
"So you think she's trustworthy, Midnight?" he asked. The horse seemed to understand his question and kept on nuzzling her. He threw her onto the horse's back and climbed into the saddle. Turning Midnight around he headed back the way he came.  
  
Two eyes that had no sockets watched the pair disappear into the night from high above. Smothered cursing could be heard as the eyes closed and faded so all that was left was the light from the shining stars in the sky.  
  
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And that's Chapter Eight. I was hoping to make it a bit longer but I ran out of ideas and I wanted to save the next part for the next chapter. Now everyone should know who the man dressed in black was. If you don't then you're stupid. Also the horse is familiar for a reason and just who's eyes were in sky? Well I think it's pretty obvious but I know how the story goes. MUWAHAHAHA! (Don't even ask where that came from)  
  
I would like to thank heath 999 for my first review for this story. Thanks a bunch you'll be receiving a check in the mail (you wish) and a review for one of your stories. Hope you liked the one I left you.  
  
In the next chapter Lily makes it to the castle, explains what happened to her (she's sick and behind schedule for a reason) and makes some new friends. See ya next time! 


	10. The Messenger

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Zelda characters but the ones that are of my creation are mine and I do own the rights to them.  
  
Chapter Nine: The Messenger  
  
Two sets of eyes watched Lily's sleeping form as she recovered from her long journey. One pair belonged to Link who sat at the edge of her bed waiting for her to awaken. He was very concerned for the woman that Saith had brought to him only last night. If she didn't awaken soon his kingdom would be a lot of trouble. At the moment they were blind. They had no way of knowing where the enemy was. For all he knew the enemy could be at the castle gates the next morning.  
  
The other set of eyes was also concerned for the blond woman's health but he wanted her to die of the fever that she had received rather than recover from it. The eyes belonged to Space the god of chaos and lord of Emptiness. This woman was a threat to his plans and he couldn't have her live. Space growled under his breath and left the scene to go talk to Darius.  
  
A quiet knock broke the peaceful silence of the room.  
  
"Come in," Link called without moving. The door swung open silently to reveal Saith. His blue eyes watched his father's back with worry. It was bad enough that he had left in the middle of the night to go find the Tryul army. Now his father also had to worry about this mysterious girl that could tell them where the messenger they were waiting for was. Saith opened his mouth to speak but didn't say anything. He wanted to tell his father sorry but he knew that he didn't mean it.  
  
He wanted a little adventure in his life and he had come so close to getting it but this stupid woman had stopped him. Saith did have to admit though that if he hadn't found her she wouldn't have made it to the castle. With that in mind his mother had gone a little bit easier on his punishment. Saith glanced at the floor as he remembered her words of outrage. She had been so worried about him and kept making him feel guilty with her words. Because his father had been taking care of the woman he wasn't there. If he had been Saith might have felt a bit better about leaving the castle. His father always went easier on him and all Saith wanted to do was live up to his father's name and make him proud.  
  
"Thank you," Link said quietly. Saith's head shot up as he stared in surprise at his father.  
  
"What?" was all Saith could get from his mouth.  
  
"I want to thank you for helping me to take care of all the citizens. I understand why you went out and even though I'm very angry that you did it I still have to thankful for the fact that you helped save this woman's life. You'll be fine king."  
  
At the last words that his father said Saith hung his head. He knew he wouldn't be a good king but there was nothing he could do about it. The least he could do was try his best and hope that Tearen would help him.  
  
"You're wel--," Saith started to say but he was cut off when a scream came from the sleeping woman as she shot up from the bed. Her piercing green eyes stared at the wall in front of her in horror and her brow was soaked in sweat. The blond hair that covered her head rippled down her back and over her shoulders. She panted as if she had been running for a long time and she quivered with fear.  
  
"It's okay," Link said soothingly. He had forgotten about his son the instant the woman had awoken. Now he was kneeling on the floor beside the bed. Saith just watched as his father tried to calm the woman down.  
  
"Shhh, everything's all right now. You don't have to worry about anything," Link continued to soothe her. Finally she looked over to him and stared at him.  
  
"Where. . .where am I?" she asked. She seemed to have regained her composure.  
  
"You're in Hyrule Castle."  
  
"The castle," she repeated to herself. Throwing off the covers she climbed out of bed. Once she was on her feet she groaned and gripped one of the bedposts tightly. She seemed unsteady on her feet and Saith rushed to help her before she collapsed on the floor. Looping an arm around her back he helped to brace her. Link stood up from his position on the floor.  
  
"You need to calm down. You've only just recovered from a near deadly fever. I'd say that you need to get some more rest but I have some questions to ask you that I NEED to have answered. So why don't you sit down so we can talk," Link said.  
  
The woman just glared at him in defiance. Though it was obvious she was exhausted she still had a certain glimmer of determination.  
  
"Listen, I don't have time to sit and talk to small fries. I have to see the king immediately. Now take me to him," she demanded.  
  
Saith started to chuckle and then laugh. Link soon joined in.  
  
"What's so funny?!"  
  
"I. . .* laugh * . . .am the. . . * snort *. . . king," Link was finally able to get out through fits of laughter. The woman's eyes went wide as she realized whom she was standing before. As she watched the two men in their merriment her eyes hardened.  
  
"Well, if you're the king I suggest you start acting like it. If you don't quit laughing I'll go find the real king so I can relay the information I carry," she yelled over the laughter.  
  
The merriment stopped in an instant. The king and his son looked at the angry woman before them. She shook off Saith's help and unsteadily stood on her on two feet. She glared at the king with her back straight as if she was about to report to a general.  
  
"My name is Lily and I am the only person left of the village Laver. During the night two weeks ago my village was attacked and the people were slaughtered. I am the sole survivor of the tragedy. The Zora prince, Suba, took me to the Lost Woods and after week of recovery I was given the mission to reach Hyrule Castle within seven days. I came here to report the location of the Tryul army which is five days away," Lily stated with determination in her eyes.  
  
Saith and Link looked at each other. They couldn't believe that this woman was the messenger that they had been waiting for. Link shook his head and stared at Lily.  
  
"So you're the messenger that the Sages have sent to warn me?" Link asked bewildered.  
  
"Yes! Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I can't fight. I had a hell of a time getting here and this is that thanks I get for risking my life?! You know it's bad enough that you didn't give my village fair warning about the attack but now you're giving me this shit, too! I don't know why I bother being loyal to this country!" Lily yelled. This was definitely not the way that she had expected she would be treated. It wasn't that she wanted to be showered with diamond rings and tiaras but the fact that they didn't believe in her because she was a girl hurt.  
  
Lily tried to throw up her arms to make her point but the little strength that she had gained had disappeared with her speech. Saith caught her again as she started to fall. Lily grumbled under her breath angry about the fact that she couldn't even stand up. Here she was trying to make a point on how strong she was and she wasn't able to be out of bed for more than five minutes without collapsing.  
  
"Sorry, about saying all that stuff. It just seems kind of weird that Saria, Ruto, and Darunia would send you. Not that that's supposed to mean anything!" Link quickly said putting his hands up in defense.  
  
Lily just glared at him.  
  
"Well, now that we've got the information, you should rest. Once you're strong enough you can tell us the whole story," Saith offered. Lily turned her head towards him and sighed.  
  
"All right," she said as Saith helped her back into bed. She pulled the covers up to her chin and tried to fall back asleep. It was hard with all the nightmares she kept having though. Link nodded to his son and they both walked out of the room so that Lily would be able to get some sleep.  
  
"Well, what do you think?" Link asked Saith.  
  
"About what? About Lily or the Tryul army?"  
  
"Both."  
  
"Well, the Tryul army is really close so we're going to have to hurry up some of the defenses that will take longer to put up. I can't believe they've gotten that close already. About Lily, I really don't know what to say except that she certainly is interesting," Saith said. He didn't speak his mind entirely though. He didn't want to reveal how much he admired and liked Lily already. She was determined to do her job even though she was sick and she defended her ideals proudly. It was also quite obvious that she could hold her own in a fight. When he had been helping to stabilize her, Saith had felt some of the muscle under her clothes. He also had to admit she was very pretty.  
  
Link glanced at his son as they continued to walk down the stone halls towards the gatehouse. He wasn't telling him something, Link was sure of that but it didn't seem too important so he let it slide.  
  
Back in her room Lily tossed and turned. She couldn't go back to sleep. Something wasn't right. She could feel it in her bones but she didn't know what was wrong. Finally after sitting in bed for another hour, Lily decided to get up. She found that her strength was quickly returning and that she was strong enough to walk on her own. Looking around she discovered a blue dress draped over the back of a chair in her room. Making a face, she changed into it and stepped out into the hall to explore. She was bored and she was going to find something to do.  
  
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Yeah! Chapter Nine's done. Yes, I know I said that I would talk about what happened to Lily and why she is sick in this chapter but I figured she needed to rest. I did touch on it a little (very little) but I will go into a lot more detail later. It also looks like someone has a crush on Lily!  
  
I would like to thank-Wait! Thank isn't enough! I bow down to DarkBlacknoid for the wonderful review they left me (I am not worthy, I am not worthy * groveling can be seen *). I'm really glad that you like the characters that I have created. You're right when you say most people don't go into enough detail with their own created characters. But I always do it with mine. Every character that I have ever created has a full and interesting history, their own emotions and their own style. Many of mine have tormented pasts (i.e. forgotten past, violent past, weird past etc.) Unfortunately Suba may. . .key word: MAY. . .not be making another appearance but I'm glad you liked him. I also hope that you like the review I left you. Thanks again for the great review that really helped me to see what people think of my writing.  
  
Whew! That was long but it had to be done. Next chapter anything goes but it certainly will be a surprise! 


	11. Discoveries

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Zelda characters but the ones that are of my creation are mine and I do own the rights to them.  
  
Chapter Ten: Discoveries  
  
Ian Burtell was a very simple man. His life at the castle was simple as well, or at least it was two weeks ago. Now he was running around like a chicken with its head cut off. He had just been informed that the Tryul army was five days away. Only half of his plans to defend the castle had been put into action and they weren't even close to being finished. Five days was all he had to get everything up and working and he knew that it wasn't enough.  
  
"Get those windows boarded up faster! I only want to see a slit when you get done!" Ian yelled to some of the men working on the gatehouse. Everyone was working as fast as they could but it just came down to the fact that he didn't have enough men to complete everything. And as if that weren't enough he still had to have people standing on the walls just in case the enemy arrived early.  
  
Ian continued to oversee the work that was going on as he walked along the battlements. His cocoa colored hair hadn't been washed in days. He was dirty and disgusting but he didn't have time to worry about looking nice and clean. The circles under his eyes told of the countless nights without sleep. It made him look like he was forty-five instead of twenty-five. He was passing over the stables when he noticed a young woman with blond hair heading towards him. Ian sighed in frustration. He was the Captain of the Guard not a babysitter.  
  
"Miss! Excuse me. . .miss!" Ian shouted, waving his arms to get her attention.  
  
Lily looked up from her walk to see a man trying to get her to look at him. The man was older than her with curly brown hair. Lily sighed to herself. ~Great, another admirer~ she thought.  
  
"Yes?" she said politely. By now the man was climbing down from the battlements to come talk to her.  
  
"I'm sorry miss, but civilians are to stay inside the Great Hall at all times. It's dangerous out here," Ian said trying to be stern but gentle. He knew how fragile women were, especially during war. Lily smiled at him in relief. He was just doing his job; he wasn't trying to hit on her.  
  
"I agree completely sir," Lily said and then continued on her way to the stables. A powerful grip on her arm stopped her immediately.  
  
"That means you miss." Ian's voice was no longer gentle. He had enough to worry about without having to take care of a silly girl.  
  
"Captain!" The voice surprised Ian and he almost let his grip on the woman's arm falter. He turned around while still holding Lily to face the elder prince.  
  
"What are you doing?" Saith asked. Ian barely picked up the aggressiveness in his voice. This confused Ian even more. What was Saith mad at him for? It could be the fact that he was holding the woman's arm but Saith himself had suggested that all civilians stay in the Great Hall. It was also Saith who said that anyone breaking the rule should be escorted back to the Great Hall.  
  
"I'm taking this woman back to the Great hall where she belongs sire."  
  
Lily stood there glaring at Ian. She was fed up with the mistaken identity bit. Sure she was a civilian but not one that would get into trouble by being outside of the inner walls. Besides she had something to do. Violently wrenching her arm free from the Captain's grasp, Lily turned on her toe and headed towards the stables again making sure that her long hair whipped him in the face. Ian glared at her and turned to the prince.  
  
"Sire, did you just see that?! She just disrespected me and you!" Ian cried enraged. Saith merely chuckled at his tutor's outburst.  
  
"It's okay, Ian. Her name is Lily and she's the messenger that told us the location of the Tryul army. She seems to be able to handle herself. I'm sure she'll be fine out here," Saith replied smiling. Ian glance at Lily's quickly retreating back and grumbled to himself under his breath. Turning around, he got back to work. Saith watched the Captain for a moment before following Lily to the stables.  
  
Inside Saith found Lily looking into each stall that she came across. She would peek in and when she didn't find what she was looking for she would move on.  
  
"Looking for a good horse to steal?" Saith asked crossing his arms over his chest.  
  
"No. I'm looking for a black horse. The guy that brought me here was riding it," she said without even looking at him.  
  
"You mean my horse?"  
  
Lily stopped her searching and turned to stare at the young man behind her.  
  
"You mean you were the one who brought me in last night?" Lily asked.  
  
"Yep," Saith replied smugly.  
  
"And that horse was yours?" Lily asked again.  
  
"Yep." Lily's heart sank.  
  
"Oh," she said sadly. Saith heard her voice drop. A moment ago she had been a high-spirited teenager but her mood had suddenly changed because he owned a horse.  
  
"Well, she's not really mine. We found her out on Hyrule Field about two weeks ago. She didn't seem to have an owner and she's a great mare so my father gave her to me," Saith said quickly hoping to cheer her up. It did. Lily's frown instantly became a smile when she heard the news.  
  
"Really?! Can I see her?" she asked excitedly. Saith eyed her oddly. If she had been a child she would have been jumping up and down by now. Silently Saith led the way back to the last stall in the stables. Inside the box was a beautiful black horse.  
  
"Ebony!" Lily squealed unbolting the stall door. The mare inside neighed with excitement at seeing her old master. Lily patted Ebony on the nose and whispered soothing words in her ears. The mare quieted under the caring hands that were stroking her.  
  
"This is your horse?" Saith asked in disbelief. Lily turned and smiled at him. Instantly he could feel his heart melting.  
  
"Of course. Ebony's her name. I'm glad to see that you've been taking real good care of her. I thought she was dead though I really wonder how she got away from the attackers or even how she got out of her stall." She continued to pet Ebony for a little while longer before a thought struck her. She slowly turned back to Saith who was still watching her closely.  
  
"What were you doing outside the castle last night?" she asked suspiciously.  
  
"Huh? Oh, I was uh. . .well I was just trying to. . .um. . .yeah," Saith finished lamely. He didn't think it would impress Lily too much if he told her that he had gone looking for trouble. Lily guessed the reason that Saith wasn't telling her and decided to leave it alone. It was obviously a touchy subject for him.  
  
"Well guess we should be getting back inside now that I've confirmed that the horse I saw last night was in fact Ebony," Lily suggested. She gave her favorite pet one last pat before she headed out of the stables. Saith nodded silently and followed Lily. Once they had reached the main hall Lily stopped.  
  
"Where am I supposed to go now? I really don't want to stay with all the refugees and I don't want to just go and sit in my room. So where do I go?" she asked. Saith thought for a moment before giving her an answer.  
  
"Well, you could tell my father what happened to you specifically. I think he wants some details so that he can get the exact position of Tryul army. He said he wanted you to tell him later. I guess now's as good a time as any seeing that you seem to have regained your strength."  
  
Saith lead the way through several halls with Lily following faithfully behind. She scanned the halls taking in their immense beauty. They were lined with portraits of old kings and queens. Many of them looked severe as they frowned down upon those who passed by them. Others had kind smiles that proved they were gentle rulers. Colorful tapestries that hung to the floor depicted great battles that had been fought and showed the courageous heroes that had died while protecting their country. Everything showed the history of Hyrule and Lily was amazed at the amount of information she gained just by looking at the pictures.  
  
Finally Saith stopped at a door at the end of a hall. He held up a fisted hand and knocked smartly.  
  
"Come in," came the muffled reply through the wood. Saith swung the door open widely and entered the room with Lily only a second behind him. Using her foot out of habit, Lily closed the door quietly behind her. Link looked up from his desk and was surprised to see Lily up and walking. He hadn't expected her to be out of bed for at least another week. The fever that she had gotten had been bad. Her temperature during the night had spiked wildly and it had surprised him that she hadn't died. Now here she was standing in front of him like a strong bull.  
  
"Yes? What did you want?" Link asked as he turned back a large map that was laid out over the sturdy wood table.  
  
"You said you wanted to hear everything that happened to Lily while she was trying to reach the castle, so I brought her here to tell you," Saith explained. Link nodded without looking up from the map and motioned for the two to sit down.  
  
Saith chose a wooden chair close to his father while Lily decided on an overstuffed armchair where she could see both the king and the prince. Silence reined as Lily waited for Link to finish before she started her story. Finally Link looked up from his work.  
  
"I'd like you to start with what happened at Laver. I know it's going to be painful but I need to know what happened," Link said. Lily nodded in response and began her tale. She told them how she and her family had been awakened in the night. She told them about her trying to help the others and when the army arrived. Lily barely made it through the part where her family had been killed without shedding a tear. She knew that one single droplet of water running down her face would set off a whole slew of them and then she wouldn't be able to finish. Then she explained how Suba had helped her. She left out the conversation with the Sages it didn't seem too important. When she finally stopped to look around and see the reactions of Link and Saith she had just finished with her leaving Kokiri Forest.  
  
Both Link and Saith were awed at Lily's tale. Link couldn't help but feel guilty about the loss of lives in Laver. He hadn't done anything about it and it made him mad. He wasn't just the type of person to sit around and let things happen. Still he thought his decision to bring everyone else to the castle was still the best solution. If he hadn't more lives would have been lost. Saith could only feel his admiration of Lily grow to new heights. She had faced death without a second thought about her own safety. That was the kind of thing that he wanted to do. After a few moments of silence Link told Lily to continue.  
  
"After I left Kokiri forest I started to head west first. I figured that it would be easier to go west and then north to reach the castle. I was wrong though. About a day into my journey I ran into a Tryul scouting party. I was forced to flee from them because I knew I didn't have time to fight with them. They chased me farther west than I planned to go for about day. That night I finally got sick of them and took them out. In all it was a party of about ten. Before I killed the last one, I was able to learn that the main force was about five days south of my location."  
  
"Upon hearing this information I immediately started heading north hoping to get back on course by the next day which was the third day. Unfortunately I never realized how big Hyrule Field was. By the fourth day I found myself on the outskirts of Gerudo Valley. Turning northeast I walked for two days straight without sleep. I had hoped to be here on the sixth day but like I said I didn't know that Hyrule Field was so vast."  
  
"I guess I got sick somewhere between the end of the sixth day and the beginning of the seventh though I'm not sure how. It didn't rain or snow during the nights that I walked. Normally I'm a very healthy person. The last time that I was as sick as I was last night was. . .was. . .actually I don't remember ever being sick." Lily stopped at those words as she tried to think of the last time she had been sick. She knew that she was abnormally healthy when during the winter everyone else would be stricken with a fever and she didn't even have a sniffle. But she just thought that it was because she exercised regularly and ate well. Shaking her head Lily finally continued.  
  
"Anyways, I got sick. For the next day I stumbled along hoping that I was going northeast. By the time that Saith found me I was nearly dead on my feet as you could probably tell when you brought me into the castle," Lily finished. She leaned back in armchair grateful for the soft cushions. Without knowing it, Lily had tired herself out as she recounted her journey. All the emotions that had been finally been laid to rest in the back of her mind had surfaced again with the telling of the story. It was a strain on Lily's self-control to sit and tell of the horrible deaths of people she knew and the trials of the past week without showing any kind of emotion.  
  
Lily sighed and shoved the feelings into the corner of her mind that she dared not go into. She could feel something waiting for her there. Something waiting for her to put her guard down. Lily shivered and tried her best to rejoin reality instead of wallowing in her depressing thoughts. Both Link and Saith were gazing at Lily. Link's eyes held a look of concern while Saith's just looked stunned. Lily almost laughed at the sight of Saith's eyes. They told of longing for an adventure like the one she had had.  
  
"Well, thank you very much for telling me what happened to you. You should probably get some more rest. After being up and about after such a violent sickness it's amazing that you've been able to even relate the story to us without bursting. Saith will show you back to your room," Link said finally breaking the silence.  
  
Lily smiled tiredly at Link. He had guessed right when he had talked about the emotional strain. Saith got up from his chair and walked over to Lily. After helping her up he led her down the halls back to her room. Once he had gone Lily flopped onto the nice soft mattress and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillows.  
  
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So what do you people think? Pretty good, huh? Well, I think so anyway but then again it is my story. I would like to let the readers know that I'm not sure when my next update will be. I try to keep each chapter to a week or two at the most but I'm going to be busy for the next couple of weeks.  
  
For instance tomorrow I go to State at the Broadmore Hotel for DECA. Not only that but I just got my license Thursday so I'll probably be going out with my friends. Plus I've got softball practice every other morning and babysitting every Tuesday. That doesn't even include homework but I'll try the best I can to get the next chapters up soon.  
  
P.S. Knowing me I'll still probably be able to update every week or so just because I'm so dedicated to my readers! 


	12. Princess of Prophecies

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Zelda characters but the ones that are of my creation are mine and I do own the rights to them.  
  
  
  
Chapter Eleven: Princess of Prophecies  
  
A shrouded figure chased her down a long dark hallway. For some unknown reason she was chilled to the bone even though the hall was stiflingly hot. She could feel fear coursing through her veins like a river as she ran on. Breathing soon became a challenge as she tried to escape the figure behind her. But no matter how fast she ran or how hard she tried the figure stayed right behind her, inching closer with every passing moment.  
  
Lily woke up with a start. She was sweating badly. The sheets were twisted around her waist in a huge knot. Panting, she tried to untangle herself. Unfortunately at that exact moment someone decided to knock heavily on her door. Due to the fact that was still recovering and she was still emotionally high strung, the knock on the door did nothing to help her frayed nerves. With a jump and a yelp Lily fell out of her bed and onto the cold stone floor.  
  
The door slowly creaked open. Lily groaned and sat up still trying to free herself from the strangling sheets. Lily rubbed the back of her head as she turned to glare at the person in the doorway. The boy standing there blushed when he saw that Lily was dressed only in a thin nightgown. Lily was finally able to get herself free from the sheets. Standing up she was able to get a good look at him. His blond hair glistened in the candlelight so that it looked like spun gold. Blue eyes gazed shyly at her. All in all he strongly resembled both Saith and Link but he wasn't as muscled as either of them.  
  
"What do you want?" she snapped angrily. The boy took a step back at her tone of voice.  
  
"Umm. . .my mother wanted to speak to you so she sent me to fetch you." The boy seemed to be regaining his confidence as he talked.  
  
"Huh. . .some mother she is. Sending her son to do her work," Lily retorted. She didn't really believe that but at the moment she was grumpy, tired, and in an overall bad mood.  
  
"Don't say that about the Queen!" the boy snapped back. He lost all of his shyness in an instant. Lily eyed him for a moment before turning her back to him. Bending over she picked up the sheets on the floor and threw them on the bed. Quietly, she neatly made the bed with the prince glaring at her back the entire time.  
  
"You know you should be on your knees begging for mercy," he said with a deadly quietness. Lily didn't even turn around.  
  
"Is that supposed to be a threat?" she asked after another moment of silence.  
  
"I could have you thrown in the dungeon because of your disrespect."  
  
"Your father and brother wouldn't hear of it." Even though the prince couldn't see it, he could hear the smirk in her voice.  
  
"Do you show them the same disrespect that you've shown me?"  
  
"Of course," she replied happily, finally turning towards the prince. "Your father likes me because I treat him like a person; not a king and your brother is in love with me."  
  
"They told you that?"  
  
"No, but it's written all over their faces." The prince fell silent. He knew she was telling the truth because he'd seen it himself, especially in Saith. He moped around the castle as if there was something wrong besides being pent up because of the danger from the invading army. As Saith was walking down the halls he would sigh wistfully as if he was some dramatic actor. And this had only been going on for a day.  
  
Lily took the prince's silence as a sign of understanding. Tugging on the comforter on the top of the bed Lily stood up straight and walked into the closet in the back of her room.  
  
"Hey, where do you think you're going?" the prince demanded. Lily poked her head back into the room and glared at him.  
  
"I'm going to change so I can go see your mother. I wouldn't do it in the closet normally but I'd like to keep some of my dignity by not letting you see."  
  
A blush spread across the prince's face once again as Lily popped back into the dressing room. After a few minutes she stepped back out into the room dressed in the same simple blue dress that she had worn the day before. Moving to the mirror she picked up an ivory comb and ran it quickly through her hair. At last she was satisfied with her appearance and turned to face the prince. She walked up to him and did something he didn't expect.  
  
"My name is Lily," she said sticking out her hand. The prince stared at her for a moment and then took her hand in his own with a warm smile painted on his face.  
  
"Tearen."  
  
"Well then Tearen, do you mind taking me to meet your mother?" Lily said kindly.  
  
"Sure," he answered and turned and headed out the door with Lily close behind him. They walked in silence. Tearen was confused about Lily. First he had been shy around her because she was in fact quite beautiful and then angry because she didn't treat how he had expected to have been treated. Now it seemed like he had known her forever. The minute that she had flashed her heart-warming smile he knew that she was his friend. There was just something about her that made him trust her instantly even after she had not shown him the proper respect. It was easy to see why Saith and his father liked her immediately.  
  
Lily was equally confused about Tearen. He was obviously younger than Saith and took his duty as prince seriously. It was clear to her that he was more of a bookworm by the size of his muscles. When she had first met him she had thought him to be a shy boy who got pushed around but then her opinion changed from shy to bratty. He acted just like many monarchs did. And then he changed instantly into a friend she could trust. Shaking her head Lily concentrated on trying to memorize the arrangement of the halls but she soon forgot it all.  
  
Tearen had led her to the most beautiful garden she had ever seen. It was a small area surrounded by stone. Around the edges ran a shallow stream that fed the garden. At one end was a set of steps that ended in a small stone platform in front of a small window. In the middle flowers of every color, shape, and size grew. A soft breeze ruffled the grass and the golden blond hair of a woman in her mid-thirties. She sat in the center of her garden watering the precious plants. Her magenta dress reached to her ankles and bore the symbol of the Hyrule Royal Family on the front of it. She glanced up as she saw her son approaching her.  
  
"Oh, Tearen. I see you've brought our guest," Zelda said as she stood up to get a better look at the young woman. Her wavy blond hair spilled over her shoulders and down to her waist. She was a head taller then Zelda and the dress that she wore was a little tight and a little short. Her green eyes sparkled like diamonds as she gazed back at the Queen. Zelda smiled and then curtsied in front of Lily.  
  
"I'm very pleased to meet you, Lily. My husband and son have only good things to say about you so I thought it was time that I met you myself."  
  
"It's nice to meet you, too," Lily said doing a little bow. "I'd curtsey but I know that if I even tried I'd fall flat on my face."  
  
Zelda laughed at Lily's joke and smiled at her some more.  
  
"I'm glad to see that someone had a sense of humor in times like these. You will fit in well here," Zelda replied.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"How would you--," Zelda started to say. Right in the middle of her sentence she stopped talking as her blue eyes glassed over. Her hands fell limply to her sides and she seemed to be staring off into space. With her mouth hanging slightly open she stood as if she was in a dream.  
  
"What's happening?" Lily asked, alarmed by the Queen's state.  
  
"It's a prophecy. She's known as the Princess of Destiny because she sometimes get visions of the future," Tearen replied. He was also alarmed by the way his mother was acting. This prophecy seemed different from all the other ones that he had seen.  
  
The teenagers watched Zelda. It almost seemed like she was asleep on her feet. Then she blinked. Her eyes still had the same glassy look while she turned her head as if trying to orient herself. After looking around, Zelda turned her attention on Lily.  
  
"Light, beware of the danger that follows you," Zelda said softly. Her voice sounded completely different as she spoke. "You must hurry and find the answer before it is too late! There is not much time and soon the shadow of the Emptiness will be upon us. Once he reins again all will be destroyed unless you find the answer and help us! Hurry!"  
  
The urgency in the final words that Zelda spoke could not be mistaken. Even though the voice that was not Zelda's spoke loudly and passionately her face had not moved one bit to show the concern her voice held. Lily was suddenly frightened beyond belief. It wasn't the voice that scared her. The voice had almost sounded familiar in a way but what scared her was the warning. It held so much urgency for a problem that she had to solve. The worst part was she didn't even know where to begin.  
  
Tearen looked over to find Lily trembling uncontrollably. He pitied her. It was hard to see someone like his mother just suddenly turn into a zombie. But there was something different this time. In all the prophecies that he had witnessed over the years his mother had never once spoken out loud. She would always confide in her family after she was done to see if anyone could help decipher what she had seen but she had never once talked like that before. Tearen moved to Lily's side and tried to comfort her.  
  
"Hey, it's okay. Remember it's just a prophecy. It happens sometimes, don't worry, my mother will be alright," Tearen said soothingly. Lily just kept on trembling.  
  
Zelda blinked again after a few moments of silence. This time her eyes had returned to normal and she seemed to be very confused.  
  
"Tearen, go get your father. I need to speak to him about what I saw," Zelda said rubbing her forehead. There was something very odd about the prophecy she had received. When Zelda looked up she caught a glimpse of Tearen running around the corner to find Link. In front of her Lily stood trembling and staring at her like she was a ghost.  
  
"Please go ahead and sit down. I know watching something like that has got to be pretty unnerving but you need to hear this, too" Zelda said walking over to Lily. She put out her hand and Lily jumped back. Zelda sighed and grabbed the young woman's hand and helped her to sit down. Once on the soft grass Lily calmed down as she collected her thoughts. There was something more to this war than met the eye and Lily needed to find out what it was before it was too late.  
  
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Done with Chapter Eleven! Well, I told you that even though I was busy I would try to get this up within the next week. That's just how I am. And if I'm getting bad grades I'm going to blame it on you people since I write half these chapters during class. Anyways State was fun but I didn't win anything and I just got a job so even though I'll write this during class I don't know when I'll have time to type it up. Oh well, I'll do the best I can.  
  
I would like to thank Lindsay for the wonderful review that you left me. I really appreciate the comment about my characters. I really do try to make them seem like they do belong there instead of them just being stuck in at random places. Also I thought most people skipped my Author Notes because they're boring but now I know differently! Thanks!  
  
To DarkBlackNoid: First of all, SSSHHHHH!!!! Keep it down! Don't give my whole story away. You're not quite there but you're getting dangerously close so SSSHHHHH!!! Second, as much as I like the idea of writing my own story I'm not sure how good I would be at it but thanks for the encouragement. Thanks to you I'm seriously considering it. If I do decide to do it I'll make sure to let you guys know. 


	13. Agents of the Dark Lord

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Zelda characters but the ones that are of my creation are mine and I do own the rights to them.  
Chapter Twelve: Agents of the Dark Lord  
  
Darius was in the middle of his breakfast when he was interrupted by a familiar icy wind. He immediately dropped the food that was on its way to his mouth. In front of him stood the very image of horror. It was the god of Chaos himself, Space. It was bad enough that talking to the god through black magic connections gave him the chills but having Space stand in front of him made him just about piss in his pants. The overbearing shadow of the god seemed to suck in what little light there was in the tent. His entire body was covered in a black cloak with the hood up so that his face (if he had one) could not be seen.  
  
Darius knew it was obviously an emergency if Space had come to see him personally rather than speak to him through his mind. He could also feel it in the air that had turned bitterly cold.  
  
"We have a problem," Space said softly. His voice was monotone but nevertheless it held enough urgency to scare the prince. Gathering up his courage, Darius held his head high and looked at the black hole that was Space's face.  
  
"And what problem might that be?" Darius' tone was confident and demanding but he knew he couldn't fool a god. At least he could show Space that he was trying.  
  
"Don't take that tone with me mortal!" Space hissed softly. His voice had not changed but the threat was quite real.  
  
"Please forgive me Master! I spoke out of confusion since I see no problem," Darius pleaded. He was still seated next to the breakfast table but if Space did not forgive him he knew the next place he would be was on the floor groveling.  
  
"You are forgiven, you ungrateful wretch! The problem is the girl that should be dead three times over is not! You failed to kill her at the village and you had the element of surprise. Next she nearly stumbles right into your lap and you do not kill her then. And now she has recovered from the sickness that I sent upon her. If you fail the next chance you get you will spend an eternity in the depths of the Emptiness where you will be tortured every single day!" Space's voice echoed throughout the small tent making Darius cower in the shadow that stood over him.  
  
"I-I am v-very sorry, M-Master. It will not h-happen again. The girl that you seek will die," Darius assured the god as he trembled.  
  
"Make sure that she does. I must go attend to other matters for the moment though. Take this." Space threw a small leather pouch as Darius' face. "It contains powerful black magic that can be used to bring down the walls of Hyrule Castle. Use it well." With that the dark god turned to leave.  
  
"Master! Wait!" Darius called. He didn't know where he found the courage to stop the God of Chaos but there was something he needed to know.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Master. . .um. . .what is so special about this girl that she needs to be killed? And who was the agent you implored years ago? " Darius asked hesitantly. He knew very well that Space could and probably would kill him for asking a question like that.  
  
Darius waited for the blow when there was no answer to his question. But it never came. Instead he heard a chuckle. Wait a minute! A chuckle? That couldn't be right. The god of Emptiness did not just chuckle. Darius looked up to find that Space was indeed chuckling though the sound it made just frightened Darius even more.  
  
"So the princeling has actually grown a brain," Space chuckled. Darius couldn't see what was so funny.  
  
"Well, I suppose I should tell you. Things might go a little bit smoother if you understood better. The girl is none of your concern. I will only tell you that she is the one person that can ruin my plans. But about the agent I implored years ago he still serves me today though he doesn't know it."  
  
Darius was only more confused by the statement.  
  
"I'm sure you've heard about how the Hero of Time and the Seven Sages defeated Ganondorf and the monster that he became, Ganon, right?"  
  
Darius nodded. There was nobody in this world that hadn't heard of the heroic deed.  
  
"Well, Ganon was under my service. The only way to bring about the Emptiness again is for someone to obtain the Triforce and wish for it to return. Ganon was the one person that held the potential to get the Triforce."  
  
"Wait, if the only way is to get the Triforce then we're fighting a losing battle since the Triforce of Power was sealed away with Ganon," Darius interrupted.  
  
"I'm the one explaining, now shut up!" Space yelled. Darius meekly nodded and Space continued.  
  
"Ganon was able to get the Triforce but Nayru, Din, and Farore did their jobs well. Because Ganon only wanted it for power the Triforce split into three separate parts and the only way to make a wish is to have the complete Triforce. So I ordered Ganon to find the other two pieces, which he did. He discovered who held the other parts and sent me pictures of their faces. I now know that those two people happen to be the King and Queen of Hyrule. Once Ganon was defeated I thought all was lost but then you came along. With your army as a distraction I will free Ganon. We will then obtain the Triforce parts and the Emptiness will return. Does it all make sense now?" Space asked.  
  
Darius nodded, visions of the crown of Hyrule placed on his head with Zelda by his side. Space held back a snicker. The fool. He actually thought that he could outsmart or even gain anything while working with the god of Chaos. Once the Emptiness was brought back, the world would be destroyed and Space could live in peace to the sound of the screams of the three great goddesses.  
  
His cold smile turned to an icy frown. There was only one person that stood in way of that goal. And he would make sure that she died a painful death indeed. With an icy blast of wind Space was gone from the tent, unnoticed by Darius as he finished his breakfast daydreaming.  
  
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Yes, it's another short chapter but hey I updated fast. I guess I was suddenly inspired or something. Either that or really bored. Anyways this just kind of explains what I think could have been the real reason the Ganondorf wanted the Triforce. I mean, come on, taking over the world is so boring now a days so I thought I'd spice it up!  
  
Thank you to STK for that lovely review you left me. It was so inspiring! Your words "this is good" will be imprinted in my memory forever. If you couldn't tell I'm being sarcastic. But thanks for taking your time to write me a review anyway.  
  
To DarkBlackNoid: 'Opps!' is right.  
  
To heath999: Yes the prophecy is going to happen. I wouldn't put it in there if it wasn't going to.  
  
Sorry about the biting sarcasm today guys. I'm not really angry or anything. Well, at least not at you. See ya next chapter! 


	14. Riddles

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Zelda characters but the ones that are of my creation are mine and I do own the rights to them.  
  
Chapter Thirteen: Riddles  
  
Link was walking down the hall to the courtyard when his fifteen-year-old son, Tearen, ran straight into him coming from the opposite direction. Fortunately for the both of them Link had caught sight of Tearen and braced himself just before he hit. If Link hadn't they would both be on the floor with several bumps and bruises. Saith jogged up behind Tearen a moment later.  
  
"Where are you two off to in such a hurry?" Link asked. Saith fidgeted when his father started to ask questions. He had to get down to the garden. First he needed to make sure that his mother was okay. He also wanted to see Lily again. Tearen had explained the situation to him talking at almost and hundred words a minute. Almost all that he had heard was "prophecy", "mother", and "Lily". Of course with family history like theirs that was all Saith needed to understand what had happened.  
  
"Father! I'm so glad I found you," Tearen panted. Even though the run out to the courtyard was not very long Tearen was exhausted. Link supposed it was because he was out of shape. "Mother. . .she told a prophecy. . .or saw one. . .or. . .or. . .it doesn't matter, she wants to talk to you right away!"  
  
Link glanced up at Saith to make sure that this was indeed the message. Tearen seemed to be in a bad state and he wanted to make sure that he got the correct information. Saith nodded silently and started to jog off down the hall again. Link smiled inwardly. It was great to see that his son had found someone he liked. For years he had turned down princesses and duchesses to make sure that the woman he married liked him because of who he was on the inside. Because Link wasn't from some high noble family he understood why Saith would like someone like Lily. Most courtiers would have shunned her deeply if they had talked to her. Most courtiers already shunned him.  
  
In the garden, both Zelda and Lily sat on the ground. Both were thinking about the sights that they had just witnessed. For Lily the prophecy that Zelda spoke aloud was both troubling and confusing. She wanted to know what it meant and she knew that she had to figure it out soon or it would be too late. But too late for what? The answer was in the riddle. The Emptiness. But what was the Emptiness? All she could think of was that it was clearly something terrible. Then Lily came down to the last problem. She had to find the answer. There was just one problem. What was the question?  
  
Suddenly she felt something tugging on the back of her head. Lily quickly looked around her but there was nothing behind her. When she started to concentrate again the tugging feeling returned. This time, though, she stayed still and tried to locate the source of the tugging. It was coming from inside her head. The tug pulled at Lily's subconscious mind beckoning her to follow it into the murky depths of the clouded corner of her thoughts. She tried to resist the pull. What lay in the dark corners of her mind scared her more than anything in the world. She knew that if she tried to explore that area, she would never return.  
  
"Lily?" Zelda's voice broke through the trance that had overcome Lily. The tugging stopped and Lily let out the breath she didn't know she had been holding in.  
  
"Lily? Are you alright?" Zelda asked with concern. Lily looked up to find that Tearen had returned with Saith and Link in tow. Nodding her head, she looked at the ground. Zelda eyed her with a look of concern before telling everyone else to seat themselves comfortably. Link and Tearen sat down in front of Zelda while Saith kneeled in between Tearen and Lily.  
  
"So what's this prophecy that Tearen was babbling about?" Link started.  
  
"A few moments ago a prophecy came to me," Zelda started into her tale dramatically. Link, Saith, and Tearen rolled their eyes. Zelda loved to exaggerate the prophecies. It seemed like everything she saw was about the death and destruction of Hyrule. Half the time they turned out to be nothing big. Zelda caught eye rolling but ignored it.  
  
"I saw a picture of the Triforce," she continued. Link and the others except Lily immediately perked up. "The picture focused more on the center of the Triforce rather than one of the triangles. If it had focused on the top or bottom triangles this might be easier to decipher but it was focused more towards the empty space in the Triforce. Then it zoomed in so that only black could be seen and then there was this bright yellow light that came out of nowhere. I could hear the sounds of battle and then someone spoke to me."  
  
"What did they say?" Lily asked anxiously looking up. Perhaps this was a piece to the puzzle. Zelda thought for a moment as she tried to recall the words that had been spoken.  
  
"When Time staves off Evil, a new Light shall be born into the world. The Emptiness will rise again and the land will be hurled into chaos. Only the Light can pierce through the Darkness, though it will come at a price too late realized. The missing piece shall be filled and the mistake at the beginning shall be rectified," Zelda said with some uncertainty.  
  
"Hey!" Tearen exclaimed. "That sounds kind of like what you said while you were seeing the prophecy."  
  
"What?!" Zelda almost shouted. "I didn't talk while I was watching the prophecy. At least I don't think I did." Now she was really confused. Zelda did have to admit that she had felt something strange come over her during that period of time.  
  
"You said something to Lily specifically. But you called her Light or something like that. Then you talked about the shadow of Emptiness and how Lily's supposed to find the answer before it's too late," Tearen explained. Everyone turned their heads to stare at Lily.  
  
"Is this true?" Link asked.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Do you remember exactly what I said?" Zelda asked softly. Lily looked uncertain for a moment. She didn't want to involve these nice people in her problems. "If you want to help solve these riddles you're going to have to tell me exactly what I said."  
  
Lily nodded and repeated the words. For some reason they were imprinted in her brain. Try as she might there was no way that she was going to forget those words no matter how much they haunted her to her very soul.  
  
"That's strange," Saith commented when Lily was done. "You've never done anything like that before."  
  
"I know. I guess I did feel something odd but I didn't think that something like this had happened," Zelda said concentrating on the ground.  
  
"Well, as far as I can see it both these prophecies mean the same thing," Link said trying to lighten the mood.  
  
"Thank you for stating the obvious," Lily snapped sarcastically. Her problems just kept getting worse and worse. Link glared at her before continuing.  
  
"Both prophecies talk about this Emptiness, whatever it is. Obviously it's something we want to avoid. Then there is this whole Light thing. The prophecy Zelda heard talked about a Light being born and the prophecy that you two heard named Lily as Light."  
  
"So. . .that means that I'm supposed to save the world from the Emptiness," Lily sighed. "Wasn't the whole saving the world supposed to be your job Link?"  
  
"I guess the torch has been passed on," Link smirked. Lily just scowled at the older man. She would have done anything to wipe that smirk off his face.  
  
"So we've basically come to the conclusion that Lily, also known as Light, has to save the world from the Emptiness," Saith said trying to break the tension between Lily and his father.  
  
"And that I have to find the answer to something to do it," Lily said still scowling at Link.  
  
"The answer to what?" Tearen asked looking at her expectantly. Lily groaned in frustration and leaned back.  
  
"If I knew I wouldn't be sitting here trying to decode some stupid prophecy!"  
  
"You know, she's right. We've got bigger things to worry about then this. We still have to fight a war. By the way has anybody figured out just exactly why Prince Darius is attacking us?" Zelda question.  
  
"Prince Darius doesn't need a reason to pick a fight with someone," Link snapped. Just the thought of someone like that sniveling bastard made him angry. Link had met him once at his wedding. The Prince had done whatever he could to try and talk Link out of marrying Zelda. If there hadn't been so many people around he might have just killed Darius and gotten it over with. Heavens knew how many people wanted him dead.  
  
"Well either way, we still have to prepare and Ian's going to need some help," Saith said standing up. He held out a hand to Lily, which she ignored and pushed herself into a sitting position.  
  
"Zelda, is there a library in the castle? I want to do some research on this Emptiness. If it's spoken in prophecies like a common thing there's got to be some record of it," Lily said. Zelda smiled at the young woman's thinking.  
  
"Of course there's library. I'll show you the way while Link, Saith, and Tearen go help Ian."  
  
Soon after the beautiful garden was left empty. Only the sound of the soft breeze could be heard as the groups went their separate ways. High above three eyes had watched the meeting with sparked interest. One pair of the eyes crinkled at the corners proving that there was a smile below them that could not be seen. Soon even the eyes faded from existence and everything was as it was before.  
  
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Two chapters done in one day! Yes, I'm on a roll! Man, I'm having a bunch of fun with this story. I really like how it's going even though it's actually gone in a completely different direction than what I outlined at the beginning. If I had used that outline this story would be almost over. Anyways I have a few things to say to the following reviewers.  
  
To DarkBlackNoid: Don't worry about it. You didn't ruin anything just don't make too many more guesses in your reviews. If you want to e-mail me to discuss what you think is going on feel free to do it. I still won't give you a solid answer, though.  
  
To heath999: I can't answer that question. It would ruin the surprise.  
  
AND MOST IMPORTANTLY TO STK: Thanks for the great nickname maybe I'll make Oh Great Sarcastic One my new penname. It does have a very interesting ring to it. Anyways I think you miss understood my jest. I was not mad at you for making such a short review. In fact I found the three words very descriptively hilarious. Like I said before I thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to write me a review with three words when I'm sure there a lot of others who don't want to leave a review with one word. Don't worry about the long review you should read the first one that DarkBlackNoid sent me. If you are really feeling angry consider me thoroughly chastised.  
  
Again thank you to all reviewers who have reviewed both this and previous chapters. Until next time. 


	15. The Librarian

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Zelda characters but the ones that are of my creation are mine and I do own the rights to them.  
  
Chapter Fourteen: The Librarian  
  
The Sage of Light, Rauru, sat snoozing in a comfortable armchair in his private study. His old age was starting to get to him as he shifted, trying to ease the arthritic pain in his joints. In the seventeen years that had passed since Ganondorf had been sealed away, Rauru had aged like any other Hylian. The thin white hair he used to have was almost completely gone by now but he still kept his mustache and beard neatly trimmed. The baggy orange robes that he wore were now tattered and ripped in places. Zelda always insisted that he get new ones but Rauru liked the way they fit.  
  
Rauru jumped when his door was suddenly thrown open. It slammed against the wall behind it making Rauru jump again.  
  
"Sir!" a young messenger called.  
  
"I can hear you, boy. There's no need to shout," Rauru grumbled. The messenger didn't apologize or reply and was almost jumping around the room like he had springs on his feet. Rauru shot him a look before the boy knocked anything over.  
  
"The Queen! She's coming down to the library sir, and she wants to talk to you," the messenger gasped excitedly.  
  
"What's so exciting about that? It's just the queen, boy," Rauru said, finally heaving himself from his chair. He glanced longingly at it before he shuffled around the room trying to clean up a bit.  
  
"Yes, but she talked to me! Personally! It was so amazing. I've heard about how nice and kind she is but I never believed it until now. Besides none of the Royal family has ever talked to me," the boy said as he daydreamed about the moment. Rauru just ignored the boy's ramblings as he moved some books from one corner of the room to another. He was a casual person and wasn't too concerned with neatness when it came to his study but this was the queen. Zelda was one of his best friends for all that she was half his age but she was the queen and deserved to be able to sit down while she talked to him.  
  
"Well, it that's all then move along. I'm sure someone else needs a message delivered," Rauru said gruffly. He had nothing against the boy. In fact this messenger was one of the more daring boys in the palace because he talked personally to some of the nicer courtiers and Rauru admired him for ignoring the boundaries of the social hierarchy. But right now he had to clean up and the boy was in his way.  
  
The boy stopped his daydreaming when the Sage spoke to him. Nodding his head in respect he bounced out of the room as he went to deliver another message. Rauru sighed as he watched him go before finding a broom behind his study door. He didn't let any maids come in to clean his study. If they did they would mess up his system of organization that was comprehendible only to him.  
  
A soft knock on the side of the door made him look up. Standing in the doorway were two women. One was dressed in a magenta dress the Royal family's seal on it and the other was a tall skinny girl wearing a simple dress that was too short.  
  
"Ahh, Zelda. I wasn't expecting you so soon," Rauru said politely before he went back to sweeping.  
  
"Yes, well it's sort of urgent," Zelda answered. Rauru glanced up at her before sweeping the rest of the dust into a corner. Lily giggled at Rauru's antics. He obviously wasn't one for cleanliness.  
  
"Urgent you say?" He shoved the broom behind the door again and took a seat in his favorite armchair. Using his hand he motioned for Zelda and Lily to sit down. Without hesitation Zelda sat on a pile of dusty books that lay in the middle of the room. Lily saw Rauru glare at the queen before she decided to take a seat on the floor, considering that there was nowhere else to sit. Books were piled everywhere as well as a thick coating of dust.  
  
"Well, I'm not really sure how urgent it is but I'd like to get some riddles sorted out very soon."  
  
"What riddles?" Rauru asked leaning forward. He loved riddles and puzzles of any kind, especially the ones that held more significance then what they first portrayed. Zelda quickly went through the tale of her receiving the prophecy and Lily recite what she had heard. When she was finished Rauru leaned back and closed his eyes.  
  
"I was wondering if any of this sounded familiar at all. Like have you ever heard of the Emptiness or this Light?" Lily asked. Rauru ignored her question for a moment while he tried to think.  
  
"Let's see now. I've gone through every book in the library and I've memorized the locations of many of the books. The only thing that I can think of that matches this description of the Emptiness is an old fairytale book. The problem is that I can't seem to recall where I put it or what the name of it was," Rauru said exasperated. He knew he was getting old but his memory was still as fresh as it was when he was a teenager. He ran through the list of books in his mind just to make. Sure enough he could think of every book, every title, and every location except for one.  
  
Sighing, he got up and started to pace around the room in a circle using Lily as the center point. Lily looked down at the ground and tried to think of a solution while Zelda watched Rauru pace. Finally she hopped of the pile of books in a very un-queen-like way.  
  
"I guess we'll just have to search in through every book in the library," she said matter-of-factly.  
  
"But that could take weeks!" Rauru protested. The library was a huge space stored with thousands upon thousands of books.  
  
"Well, then we'll just have to go fast," Lily commented standing up. Rauru stared at the two young women before he finally sighed and headed out the door. Lily and Zelda quickly followed.  
  
Five hours later, Lily sat in a stiff backed chair in the humungous library. She had never imagined a place could be so big. The entire place was crammed with shelves which each held hundreds of books. So far they hadn't even made it a quarter of the way through the library and already Lily was starting to get bored. On her left Zelda was searching through a stack of books that might possibly hold the one that they were looking for. Rauru was somewhere in the maze of shelves deciding which section the book might be in.  
  
Finally Lily slammed the book she was looking through shut with frustration. She wasn't the waiting type of person.  
  
"I'm sick of this!" she shouted so that Rauru could hear her. "I'm going to get some fresh air." Zelda just nodded absentmindedly as she continued to search through her stack. Lily stomped out of the room looking for something to do while Rauru peeked his head around a corner.  
  
"Feisty little thing, isn't she?"  
  
Zelda sighed and closed her book. She brought her fingers to her head and started to massage her temples.  
  
"Yes, that's half of the reason that Link and Saith like her so much."  
  
"What about Tearen?" Rauru asked, clearly intrigued.  
  
"I think he likes her, too. She doesn't treat him like a child or at least that's the reason he gave me."  
  
"What do you think about her?" Rauru asked taking Lily's former seat.  
  
"Me?" Zelda seemed surprised by the question. "Well, I think she's smart, strong, and brave yet there's something else about her. I can't put my finger on it but I just trusted her instantly. I'm not even sure why. For all I know she could be a spy from Darius' army."  
  
"I agree with you when you say that she is special. She's certainly one of a kind and I know what you mean when you say that you can trust her instantly. I felt the same way," Rauru said quietly.  
  
"So in other words she'd be perfect for Saith," Zelda said, smiling slyly.  
  
"Yep. Well, we'd better get back to work." Rauru stood up and disappeared into the maze of shelves once again while Zelda picked up another book and flipped through it.  
  
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Snow Day! School got cancelled so this is what I'm going to do today. Maybe I'll get another chapter up but I'm not going to guarantee anything. This one was a little shorter than my other chapters but I have to save the next part for the next chapter otherwise this chapter would get too long. I hope you liked my portrayal of Rauru. The game didn't give a lot of info so I pictured him as a kind of nice old man.  
  
I'm glad to see that STK wasn't really mad at me. Thanks for explaining and I hope you enjoyed my wonderful chapter. Again I think it's great because I'm writing it and I haven't gotten any flames yet, so I'm happy. Thanks to all my reviewers that keep me so very happy! Happy, happy, happy, happy, happy! Bye! 


	16. Word Fights and Sword Fights

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Zelda characters but the ones that are of my creation are mine and I do own the rights to them.  
  
Chapter Fifteen: Word Fights and Sword Fights  
  
When Lily left the library she had no clue what she wanted to do or where she wanted to go. All she knew was that she needed some time to think. Of course she could have done that in the library but it was too stuffy there. Instead she decided to wander the halls while she was deep in thought.  
  
The warning kept coming to her mind, urging her to go back to library and find the answer she was looking for. And then the logical side or her thinking would say that she couldn't find the answer to the problem if there wasn't a question. Pretty soon she would be wondering who was trying to reach her? Why had they decided to use Zelda as their messenger? She knew that it hadn't been Zelda that spoke the words that were so clearly imprinted in her mind. The voice for some very odd reason sounded so familiar but she knew that she had never heard it before in her life. When she tried to recall whom the voice sounded like the words would start to form in her head again and then she would be right back where she started. It was an endless circle of thoughts that she somehow couldn't seem to escape.  
  
When Lily was finally able to get herself out of her troubled mind she found that she had wandered outside into the courtyard. At the moment it was filled with people. Many of them were peasants that lived in the villages that had been evacuated. Soldiers milled around the area, too almost as if they were unsure of what they were supposed to be doing. To her right a group of peasants were learning to string bows while to her left another group was being taught the finer point of handling a quarterstaff.  
  
Lily slowly walked in between the people. Suddenly she spotted Saith standing next to Link and the soldier that had mistaken her for a refuge yesterday. She hurried over to the small group and tapped the Link on the shoulder. When he turned around the frown on hid face turned into a smile.  
  
"Lily, what are you doing here? I thought you were in the library with Zelda and Rauru," he said. Saith and the guard turned their attention to her as well.  
  
"I was but I got bored," she stated simply.  
  
"And here I assumed that you wanted to figure out the answer to that riddle as fast as you could," Saith said mockingly.  
  
"I do but I can't think when I'm bored." Lily noticed that the soldier was glaring at her. Link seemed to notice, too. Gesturing to him, Link introduced the man.  
  
"Lily, this is the Captain of the Guard, Ian Burtell," Link said proudly.  
  
"Isn't he a bit young to be the Captain of the Guard?" Lily asked innocently. Ian just glared at her again.  
  
"I've been training to be an elite soldier in Hyrule's army from the time I could hold a sword. I suggest you don't patronize me," he hissed. Ian really didn't like this girl. She disobeyed orders and didn't show any respect to her elders or her betters.  
  
"Ooo. . .a soldier who can use big words and know what they mean," Lily said with mock admiration.  
  
"Why you. . ." Ian started to threaten but Link held up a hand between the two before a fight broke out. Considering the two he wasn't sure which one would be on the ground begging for mercy first.  
  
"That's enough. Lily you should probably head back inside. It is getting to be a bit dangerous out here now that we're teaching the peasants to fight. Knowing their skills there's probably going to be a lot of sharp objects flying around," Link said trying to convince Lily to leave.  
  
"I thought that was the point of trying to use a bow and arrow," Lily said, letting her temper get the best of her.  
  
"Hardy, har, har."  
  
"Hey, I'm just getting you back for that 'pass the torch' comment," Lily smirked. Ian glanced wonderingly at Saith who just shrugged his shoulders. "But if you are seriously training people out here I guess I will go inside."  
  
Link and Ian grinned, while Saith caught the way too innocent tone in her voice. He looked at her skeptically but she just ignored him. Instead she turned around and walked purposefully inside. First she headed down to her room where she picked up her bow and quiver as well as her sword. With her supplies gathered Lily wandered around until she found a servant walking down the halls.  
  
"Excuse me miss, but could you possibly tell me where the outfitting room is?" Lily asked politely. The servant smiled enough to show a few missing teeth.  
  
"Of courth, dear. Firsth you walk down thisth hall and take a right. Then ith's the thecond hall on your left," she said with a lisp. Lily thanked her and followed the woman's instructions. She soon found it and obtained a loose midnight blue shirt and some black breeches. The boots she had were the ones that she had worn all the way from Laver. She thanked the man that gave her the outfit and made her way back outside.  
  
Link, Saith, and Ian were still talking but this time a few more guards had joined them. Lily stood behind them and waited for their conversation to finish. Eves dropping a little bit she found that the conversation was about the defense of the castle. It looked like they were halfway done with the rest of the plans thanks to the civilians that had decided to help. When the other soldier left Lily tapped Link on the shoulder again. He seemed to have realized who was tapping his shoulder and heaved a great sigh before he turned around.  
  
"Lily, I thought you said you were going inside," he said exasperatedly before he got a good look at what she was wearing. Once he did notice that her sword and quiver were strapped to her back and that she had her bow in her hand, he just stared. He wasn't the only one. Both Saith and Ian were staring as well.  
  
"I did," Lily said, her voice full of innocence. "Then I changed, got my gear, and came outside again. I'm ready to train."  
  
"You can't be serious," Ian scoffed.  
  
"Dead serious." Lily glared at the man before she turned around and headed over to the area where peasants were being trained to use a bow and arrow. The soldier there was giving out pointers and helping anyone who needed it. Lily took up a position at the end of the line where there was an open target. With expertise she quickly strung her bow.  
  
During that time Ian and Saith had come over to watch. The smirk on Ian's face didn't drop when he saw how well she strung the bow. He thought that anybody could do that. But not everybody could shoot and hit a target. The soldier walked to the end of the line opposite from Lily and told the archers to string their bows. Lily followed the command.  
  
"AIM!" Lily brought her bow up and pulled the string taught as she closed one eye and aimed for her target.  
  
"Try to actually hit the wall," Ian snickered. Lily just ignored him while Saith shot the Captain a glance.  
  
"FIRE!"  
  
At the word Lily let her arrow fly. A dull thud could be heard when the arrow hit the target. The sound of jaws dropping could be heard right afterwards. Lily looked at the arrow that stood quivering in the middle of the bull's eye and frowned.  
  
"Damn," she muttered under her breath. "Missed."  
  
"What do you mean missed?!" Saith yelled from behind her. "You hit the bulls eye!"  
  
"Yeah, but not square on," she said, sounding a little disappointed. "Oh well, I guess you can't win 'em all."  
  
The men all around her gaped at her for a little while longer. The soldier cleared his throat and told the men to string their bows again. Thirty seconds later he told them to aim. Lily took up the position and aimed for the very middle of the bull's eye.  
  
"Let's see if she can do it again," Ian whispered to Saith.  
  
"FIRE!"  
  
Again Lily's arrow struck home and this time she was far more pleased. The arrow stood smack dab in the middle of the bull's eye. There couldn't have been a better shot.  
  
"That's better," Lily said as she smiled. She had thought for a moment that she had lost he edge. Normally she trained every day but she hadn't gotten much of a chance to in the past two weeks.  
  
After a few more stares from some of the men surrounding her, Lily shot again and was rewarded with another arrow in the bull's eye. She kept shooting for the next hour and hit all her marks. Saith and Ian continued to watch. Ian stopped glaring after a while and watched with an almost amused look as Lily out shot every soldier who came to challenge her. Word had spread quickly about her archery skills and the men lined up for a chance to beat the maiden who could hit the center of the target every time.  
  
Once Lily had proved to all the men her worth with a bow, she stopped shooting and put her gear away. She strolled over to where Saith and Ian were standing with a confident grin on her face.  
  
"Do I shoot to your satisfaction, sir?" Lily asked Ian. He smiled warmly back at her.  
  
"You've successfully proved me wrong in my theory that women can't shoot," he conceded. Lily's grin got bigger.  
  
"And now I'm going to prove your theory that women can't use a sword wrong, too."  
  
"Then I'll prove YOU wrong by being your first opponent. How does that sound?" Ian asked with a glint in his eye.  
  
"I accept your challenge, sir," Lily exclaimed loudly and did a mock bow. The men that had surrounded the two, laughed at Lily's impression of a Hylian noble. Being peasants they knew how bad some of them could be. Ian and Lily walked over to an open area in the courtyard. Lily drew her sword and took up a guard position while Ian did the same.  
  
"The first person to draw blood wins. Ready! GO!" Saith yelled from the sidelines.  
  
The combatants circled each other for a few minutes. Then they both struck at the same time. Ian struck at Lily's torso while she went for his head. Lily managed to twist her body to avoid Ian's attack while keeping her sword in a straight line for his head. At the last minute he ducked and swiped at her feet. Lily flipped over Ian's head and landed behind him already swinging her own sword at his back. He barely managed to escape as he ducked and rolled away.  
  
The watched each other for a moment. Ian was already panting heavily. Despite Lily's size and lack of strength, she was very agile and speedy which meant she could get in more swings at a faster rate. He had the advantage of strength on his side but he wasn't sure how useful it was going to be if he couldn't hit her.  
  
Lily was sweating from the exercise and that worried her. The sweat that formed on her brow had a tendency to drip into her eyes and cause a distraction. Deciding that if she didn't wipe her brow soon she wouldn't be able to see, Lily raised her arm as fast as she could and swiped the sweat from her forehead.  
  
Ian took the chance to lung at her, with his sword aimed for her chest. Luckily for Lily, she had used to her sword arm to wipe away the sweat and all she had to do was brace herself to keep from getting slashed. Even still Ian's overbearing strength began to win as he pushed her back. Grunting, Lily used all her might and forced Ian's sword back with a quick push. Using her remaining time she ducked and rolled to the side. Hopping up from her crouched position, Lily closed in on a surprised Ian quickly, with her sword flashing in the sun as she hacked away. Ian barely managed to block all the blows and now they were coming faster.  
  
Suddenly a cry of pain could be heard throughout the courtyard as Lily drew first blood from Ian's sword arm. Immediately she backed off and gave the Captain of the Guard some room. He held his arm and checked to make sure that the cut was not too deep before he bowed low.  
  
"I yield. It seems that you were right. Women can fight with swords as well as men," he said humbly. Lily smiled back at him and bowed as well.  
  
"Who's next?" she yelled out to the crowd once Ian had exited the 'ring' to go bandage his arm. Only one hand went up. Saith's. He entered the 'ring' and the two began their fight.  
  
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No, you're not going to read about the sword fight between Lily and Saith. The outcome will be announced later but I don't feel like making this chapter too much longer by inserting another fight scene. Especially when I'm not that good at writing them. This chapter was mainly to show to you people Lily's skills, not that you really wanted to know I'm sure.  
  
Anyways I know I said that I would get this up yesterday but when I did start typing this I had to stop and go to work and by the time I got home my sister had stolen the computer to do homework that she wasn't really doing. Whew! There's my excuse but I'm sure you people don't want to hear it. I never do. Thanks again to all my wonderful reviewers! 


	17. Pieces of the Puzzle

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Zelda characters but the ones that are of my creation are mine and I do own the rights to them.  
  
Chapter Sixteen: Pieces of the Puzzle  
  
Two mornings later found Lily back in the library in the same straight- backed chair that she had used the day before. Rauru was no longer shuffling around the library, muttering under his breath wherever he went. This time he was seated in the chair next to her going through the last few stacks of books with her. Zelda was absent due to meetings with the nobles. Many of them were worried sick over the invasion. They were scared that they would lose all their possessions. It made Lily laugh to hear that they would be worried about their possessions and not their lives.  
  
"So I heard that you beat Ian Burtell in a sword fight yesterday," Rauru commented quietly, not looking up from his searching.  
  
"Yeah," Lily answered back not wanting to hear about how awful it was for a woman to use a weapon.  
  
"Wonderful, it's about time that someone other than Link and Saith showed him a thing or two," Rauru exclaimed quietly with a smile. Now he was looking at Lily. She glanced up from her work and eyed Rauru suspiciously.  
  
"Don't get me wrong, though. Ian's a really nice guy but when it comes to fighting with swords he brags a little bit too much," he added hastily.  
  
"And I'm sure it helped his reputation when I beat him," Lily replied smugly. Rauru laughed.  
  
"So what of your battle with the prince?" Lily's face was one of surprise.  
  
"Oh come on, I have ears you know," Rauru laughed. The sight of Lily's face was one to remember. It wasn't often that she was surprised.  
  
"Well, Saith beat me. But I came really close to getting him though," she stated proudly. The battle had been hard fought but in the end it was clear that Saith was the better swordsman. Later he had told her that Link was even better than he was. Lily was grateful that he hadn't decided to participate in the competition. Sighing, she went back to her searching.  
  
Half an hour later they had gone through every book in the library. Lily sat in the chair wearily rubbing her temples while Rauru was deep in thought. How could a book that he should be able to find not be in the library? Finally Rauru looked up. Lily was watching him intently waiting for something. A clue as to where to find the book. Anything.  
  
A loud grumbling from Rauru's stomach broke the deep silence. He grinned sheepishly and Lily smiled at the old man.  
  
"Looks like it's time for lunch. I suggest we head back to my study and have lunch brought to us there."  
  
Lily nodded in silent agreement and stood up. Rauru was finally able to heave himself up from his chair with Lily's help. Together they walked slowly down the hallway to Rauru's study. They chatted quietly talking about silly things. Then the conversation became serious. Lily had just described her conversation with the three Sages. Seeing as how Rauru was the Sage of Light she felt that she could talk to him about it. Rauru was very interested in the fact that Lily was able to enter the Sacred Forest Meadow. About half way through his plague of questions they reached his study. Rauru sat in his armchair while Lily regained her seat on the floor. They forgot about lunch as Rauru drilled her with questions about her family.  
  
"So you were adopted?" he asked.  
  
"Yes. I was only a few months old when they found me off the shore of Lake Hylia," she explained for the third time.  
  
"And you don't remember anything before that?" Rauru asked again.  
  
"Rauru, you asked me the same question two minutes ago and the answer is still the same as it was before. I was a baby so I couldn't have remembered anything," Lily said slowly hoping that this time her answer would be imprinted in his brain.  
  
"Hmm. . .then that means that your family was normal," he pondered to himself.  
  
"What do you mean 'normal'?"  
  
"I mean that you are quite obviously not normal. Being able to stay in the Sacred Forest Meadow alone proves that. Then you are hearing prophecies from Zelda when she doesn't normally say prophecies and you are renamed as Light in that prophecy. Think is there anything else that could help me out here," Rauru explained leaning forward in his armchair as he said the last sentence.  
  
Lily thought for a moment.  
  
"Well, I've never been sick before except when I was trying to make it here and then I was violently sick. Not to mention that I was strong enough to be walking around a few hours later when I shouldn't have survived the night. How's that?"  
  
"Good, good. Hmm. . .never being sick. That's unusual but that doesn't help to solve this riddle."  
  
"Let's see. I also have an unnatural skill when it comes to handling a bow and a sword."  
  
"What do you mean unnatural?" Rauru asked.  
  
"Well, I just knew how to use both from the moment I picked them up. Most people have to train hard to become as good as I have with both the sword and the bow but I didn't train at all," Lily explained. She had never really thought about her skills like that before and now that she did it seemed eerie. Things were really starting to get weird.  
  
"There are only two people that are like that, too," Rauru commented.  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Link and Saith. I believe it has to do with the fact that Link is the Hero of Time. I'm sure you've heard the tale. I never thought about it until now but Link didn't have time to train to be able to use a sword as well as he does. He only had a few months before his spirit was sealed away to practice and then after that he went straight into battle knowing how to use the Master Sword to his advantage. Saith also seems to have that same quality. If it's because he's Link's son or for some other reason I don't know but Saith has always been able to use a sword. I don't think anyone has thought that it's out of place because one day it just started and now it's an every day thing. Very interesting," Rauru said stroking his short beard.  
  
"That does sound like me, doesn't it?"  
  
"Anything else at all?" Rauru asked.  
  
"Not that I can think of."  
  
"Well, these pieces have to fit somewhere in the puzzle. Your strange abilities aren't there for nothing. But I suppose we should call for lunch now. What do you think?" Lily agreed whole-heartedly. Soon they were both digging in to a hot and delicious meal. Lily was ravenous. After almost half an hour of questions and two days working in the library any food tasted great. When she was done she piled both her and Rauru's dishes on to a tray and went and put them on top of a pile of books.  
  
In the middle of the process she froze.  
  
The tray dropped from her grasp and clattered to the floor making Rauru jump. He turned to find that she was staring at the pile of books. Picking the top one up she blew on the cover and a cloud of dust rose. Turning around she faced Rauru who was looking at her like she had gone mad.  
  
"I found the book Rauru. It's been here the whole time," she said calmly. Her voice had a very eerie tone to it as she showed him the cover.  
  
It read: Hylian Fairytales of Old.  
  
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Yes another chapter done. Well, I'll give you that to chew on even though it's fairly short. Work is certainly a lot different than I imagined and is not taking up nearly as much time but I guess that's because I'm on short shift, which means that I only work two hours a day but I have to work five days a week. Anyways did some things surprise you or what? With the whole Link thing I've always wondered how he's able to use a sword so well even he had never touched one in his life before he had to save the Deku tree. Hopefully this explained it a little.  
  
BTW: Thanks to DarkBlackNoid I have officially started an original fic. It's called Princess of Thieves. I'd give you a summary but I feel that if my writing has moved you enough you'll go check it out on your own. I don't want to force people to read my writing. Next chapter up soon! Hopefully! 


	18. To Believe or Not to Believe

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Zelda characters but the ones that are of my creation are mine and I do own the rights to them.  
  
Chapter Seventeen: To Believe or Not to Believe  
  
Lily sat on the floor with Rauru standing over her shoulder. She opened the book slowly because the cover was so old that it almost seemed to crumble under her slender fingers. Inside the pages were yellow with age and the once brightly colored pictures were now faded. The print was big but it was smudged so bad that it was hard to read.  
  
"Now we have to go through the entire book to find what we're looking for," Rauru said squinting over Lily's shoulder. She just ignored the old Sage and flipped automatically to the middle of the book. Rauru stared at her trying figure out what was going on. Her face was calm and showed no excitement or tension. In fact her face showed no emotion at all. Her green eyes stared almost blankly at the page in front of her and she didn't seem to be reading it.  
  
"Lily, are you alright?" Rauru whispered. She was thoroughly scaring him.  
  
Lily didn't seem to hear him for a moment. Then her face contorted into a look fear. Her breathing quickened and all of a sudden she was panting hard.  
  
"Lily, are you okay?" Rauru asked again.  
  
Lily nodded her head after a few moments but Rauru could see that she was still shaking. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Taking a deep breath, she looked down at the page she had opened to and began to read out loud.  
  
"Throughout history the creation of Hyrule has been legend. The three great golden goddesses formed the land with their own hands leaving three sacred triangles where they departed from the world. But I have always wondered what the world looked like before the goddesses made everything. I have gathered information and have pieced together my own story of Hyrule before its creation," Lily read slowly.  
  
She glanced up at Rauru before she continued on.  
  
"Before Hyrule was created and before time even began, there was a war. This war was the greatest of all wars with so much to gain and so much to lose. The war was fought on the fields of the Emptiness--!"  
  
"Ha! I told you that I'd heard the word Emptiness used somewhere!" Rauru exclaimed.  
  
"No one doubted you, you know," Lily said dryly before she turned back to the book. In doing so she missed the deflated look on Rauru's face.  
  
"The war was fought on the fields of the Emptiness where night reigns supreme and the sky is blacker than black. This was the home of the great god of Chaos, Space. The battle raged between the five gods that wanted to rule the land. On one side there was Space fighting to keep the Emptiness and on the other side there was the four great goddesses."  
  
"What does it mean by four great goddesses? Do you suppose that it was misprinted?" Rauru asked, interrupting Lily again. She rolled her eyes and tried to keep herself from glaring at him.  
  
"I don't know if it's a misprint or if that's what the book really means. If you would stop interrupting me maybe I could continue with the story long enough to find out the answers. Now would you please be quiet," she said impatiently.  
  
"These goddesses wished to bring an end to the dead world that they lived in. They wanted to bring light and life to the world. To do this they had to defeat the current ruler, Space and destroy the silence and darkness that kept them from completing their wish. These goddesses were the goddess of Fire, Din, the goddess Water, Nayru, the goddess of Earth, Farore and the goddess of Wind. The last goddess' name is unknown to our world as she was not one of the original three creators. Each element that the four goddesses contained helped to beat back the minions of the Dark Lord. They pushed forward towards his castle situated in the center of the Emptiness. Inside it was a winding maze of traps that pushed the goddesses to their limits."  
  
"You know that sounds really familiar," Rauru commented, once again interrupting Lily once again. This time Lily did really glare at him but she decided to let him continue.  
  
"What do you mean it sounds familiar? I know you've read this book before but I've got a feeling that's not what you mean."  
  
"You're right. What sounds familiar is the part about the goddesses attacking the castle of the Dark Lord. It sounds just like Link when he climbed Ganon's tower," Rauru answered thoughtfully. They sat in silence as the two considered the coincidence that could quite possibly not be a coincidence. Sighing, Lily returned to the reading hoping that she would not be interrupted again.  
  
"The goddesses pushed their way through the tower until they reached the top where Space awaited them. The battle between the gods was hard fought and ended in both triumph and tragedy. In the end, Space was beaten into submission but not without managing to mortally wound the Goddess of Wind. Now you may ask yourself how could a great goddess be wounded mortally, for goddesses are immortal? I do not rightly know the answer to this question but the goddess of Wind did in fact die. She was buried somewhere within the Sacred Realm and Din, Nayru, and Farore went about making their wish come true. They destroyed all the minions under Space's rule and set up the land of Hyrule. This is where the story of the Goddess of the Wind ends and where the story of the world's creation begins. This story may be true or it may be false but it is for you to decide."  
  
There was a pause as the words hovered around the listener's ears, soaking into their brains.  
  
"So, that's it. That's all there is?" Rauru asked.  
  
"Yeah, it looks like it," Lily said flipping the page to make certain there was nothing else. The next page showed a picture of a mask that stared out at Lily with a creepy look. She turned the page back and sighed.  
  
"Well, that was certainly interesting but I'm not sure how much it actually helped to solve the riddle," she said leaning back on her hands.  
  
"What do you mean it didn't help? We know that there were in fact four goddesses instead of three and then of course there's this Space god. He's got to serve a purpose in this whole mystery. If the prophecies are true and the Emptiness is real, than he is the ruler and our enemy."  
  
"But how do we know if this whole story is true or not. The guy did say that you could believe in it or not. For all we know the whole thing's been made up," Lily said exasperatedly.  
  
"You can't really believe that. The prophecies alone prove that the story is true," Rauru protested. Lily just sighed in response.  
  
"I don't know what to believe anymore."  
  
"Believe what ever you need to believe to help you solve this riddle," Rauru said comfortingly after glancing at her. She seemed stressed to him.  
  
"Thanks, Rauru. This whole riddle thing is wearing me out. I know I have to solve it but none of this makes sense."  
  
Lily stood and stretched her cramped muscles. She picked up the book and placed it in Rauru's lap before she walked out of the room. The old Sage watched her go with surprise. The look on her face was a troubled one and Rauru wondered what was on her mind. He thought it odd that she would not believe the story. It was a strange story and it went against every thing that he had been taught but there was no evidence saying that it wasn't true. Why shouldn't there have been a forth goddess? And what was wrong with Lily? She had acted weird before she started to read and then she had denied the truth in the story even when they had nothing else to go on.  
  
Finally Rauru pushed himself up from the armchair and followed her out of the room, trying figure out this new puzzle.  
  
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I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry! It's another short chapter but the next part doesn't really fit in with this chapter. Mainly because the next part is kind of from Lily's point of view.  
  
Also I'm sorry about not getting this up last Sunday. I promised myself that I would update all my stories this weekend but it didn't happen. Plus I've been swamped with work. The assistant manager is leaving next week and the only person that could seriously take her job is getting fired which means I'm next in line and I've only been working there for two weeks. Ahhh!  
  
Ok calm down, just calm down. * deep breathing can be heard * On a lighter note this isn't taking me as long to write thanks to my handy dandy. . .Palm pilot! I can type during class and then just zap it over to my computer and not have to worry about retyping. Aren't you happy for me? Well, I have to go now so I'll see ya next chapter! Bye bye! 


	19. Going Crazy?

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Zelda characters but the ones that are of my creation are mine and I do own the rights to them.  
  
Chapter Eighteen: Going Crazy?  
  
When Lily was done talking to Rauru she didn't head back to her room. Instead she went outside trying to get some fresh air. Or at least that's what she told anyone who asked her where she was going. What she really wanted was some quiet time. Some time to think to herself. She had to sort out everything she was feeling.  
  
Before she headed outside she stopped in the kitchen to get a snack. The cooks were kind to her and loaded her arms with fruits and breads of all sorts. They especially liked her because she had gotten he stubborn cow that gave the best milk to keep from kicking someone while she was being milked.  
  
Lily munched on an apple while she wandered around outside. She headed away from the castle down towards the gatehouse. When she reached it, she turned left and headed out towards an open orchard. Finding a big tree Lily seated herself underneath the big boughs and leaned back against the thick trunk. The leaves shadowed her face and a cool breeze brushed her cheeks, barely causing her hair move. For the first time in the past three days Lily almost felt at peace.  
  
Almost.  
  
Her peace of mind was broken when she turned to the problem at hand. Things had been very strange ever since she had left home. First she was able to enter the Sacred Forest Meadow. Then she had gotten violently sick and had been able to recover enough to walk around the next morning. But what was troubling her most were the events that had occurred just this afternoon. The conversation with Rauru had sparked her interest in her strange abilities. Her heart told her that her incredible health was due to something more than just eating right and exercise but her brain said that there was no way that something more could be the reason.  
  
All of the logical side of her brain said that except for that one little corner. In the past few days that shadowed corner seemed to be waking up. She wasn't sure how that was possible but that was what was happening. Before, the corner had lain dormant and Lily had been able to ignore it. After the massacre at Laver the corner seemed to grow in size and power and Lily had a found it harder to ignore. In the past few days the corner seemed to have adopted a bit of a tug. When she had fought Saith the pulling had gotten stronger and she had fought better, harder, and longer than ever before. When she really thought about it, Lily had a hard time remembering the battle. It all seemed like blur. Nothing stood out in her mind except that she had felt almost peaceful. Even though she had known in some corner of her mind that she was fighting better than she ever had, she felt calm and controlled almost as if it wasn't she that was moving her limbs.  
  
Shaking her head, Lily tried to get back to her train of thought. After the fight the tugging kept nagging at her. And then today the scariest thing of all happened.  
  
During her conversation with Rauru not only her interest in her abilities had been sparked but also it seemed like the tug had gotten a little taste of the electricity. When she was putting the dishes away, the corner grew so rapidly and so strongly that the part of her mind that was rational thought was quickly subdued. Lily could feel her mind being in-closed in a cold cloud. She could still feel the movement of her body and see out of her eyes but the corner was the one controlling her actions. Fighting the cloud with strength born from desperation, Lily was able to regain control of her body.  
  
She knew that she had scared Rauru pretty bad but she was now terrified for her own sanity. She had been successful in subduing the power of the corner, but now instead of a tug it was a voice. The worst part was that the voice was eerily familiar, just like the voice that had warned her to find the answer. Even now it was whispering incoherent words of warning. Lily had found a small piece of the puzzle in the riddle that had no question. But this small piece was both unbelievable and insignificant. How did the story of one goddess that probably didn't even exist fit into the warning about the Emptiness?  
  
~What if she did exist?~  
  
Lily gasped with surprise as the voice's words started to become clear.  
  
~She's important and you know it.~  
  
She shook her head trying to make the voice disappear. There was no way that any of this was possible. She knew that the voice was just part of her imagination. She was just imagining it all. Or was she? Was she going crazy?  
  
~I am the part of you that remembers. The part that knows what is really going on in this world.~  
  
The soft and whispery words seemed too real to ignore but she knew she had to. It was all an illusion. None of it was real.  
  
~Stop denying yourself. It's only going to hurt in the end. You say that you are the voice of reason and that I am just an illusion but it is in fact the other way around.~  
  
"What?" Lily gasped.  
  
~It's all true. If you would stop trying to be logical the answer would come much easier.~  
  
"Stop it!" she almost shouted. "What do you know anyway? You're not real. Hell, you don't even have a mind. You're just a stupid voice that isn't there."  
  
~If I'm not there then why are you talking to yourself? Any one that just happens to pass your way will think you're crazy.~  
  
The voice mocked her own sanity and was driving her to the end of her limits. Her frustration with everything in the world grew. The tears that she had been holding back since she left the forest started to spill over again. Everyone was counting on her to save the day but how could she if she didn't know how. She couldn't stop an entire army that wasn't even threatening the world anyway.  
  
~Yes, you can.~  
  
"I can what?" Lily sobbed. Her shoulders were slumped in defeat, as the weight she carried on her shoulders grew heavier. Not only did she have to deal with an army and a stupid riddle but know she had to try and keep her sanity.  
  
~You can defeat the army if you let me help you. There are things that I know that can help you to see everything that is really going on. Do not a the naïve teenager by ignoring what is sitting in front of your face.~  
  
"NO!" she shouted, her pride welling up in her chest. "I don't need help from you. There's nothing you can do. You don't know anything!"  
  
Using the remaining strength she had she ignored the voice and shoved it back into its corner. She put her hands by her side and pushed herself up from the ground. Making her way back inside, she headed towards her room. There she gathered all her gear and headed out to the practice courts. She seriously needed to vent some anger and fighting was the best way that she could do it.  
  
At the moment Ian and Saith were helping to train more of the peasants in the art of swordsmanship. Link was standing to the side and overseeing the process. When Lily walked up to stand beside him he glanced over. The smile on his face was cheery and lighthearted. He obviously missed the haggard look on Lily's face.  
  
"So, how's the search going?" he asked.  
  
"We found the book but it didn't help," Lily grumbled looking at her feet. She didn't need to think about that. The whispering voice grew stronger just at the mention of it.  
  
"Oh."  
  
They didn't talk for a few minutes and watched the lesson. Many of the younger peasants were having any easier time of learning how to swing a sword while the older ones had difficulty trying to remember all the steps. Link finally broke the silence.  
  
"So I heard that you beat Ian and came close to defeating my son."  
  
"Looks like everybody's heard about it," Lily commented dryly.  
  
"Yep. So, how about taking me on?" Lily glanced up at the king and checked his face to make sure that he was serious. He was. There was no mistaking the fire that lit up his blue eyes and the half grin on his face.  
  
"All right but if you're better than Saith don't expect too much," she answered shrugging her shoulders. They walked over to where a now official ring had been set up. Word of the fight spread like a wildfire around the courtyard. People lined up along the edges of the ring to get a good look at the match. The two stood facing each with swords in hand when someone shouted, "Go!"  
  
They met with a clash of steel and the sparks flew from both blades. As fast as they came together they were apart again this time circling each other. Lily watched Link with a suspicious eye. Suddenly he closed the small gap between them like lightning. Lily reacted only on instinct and saved herself from being defeated in one blow. She concentrated hard and tried to keep her eyes on Link's whirling sword.  
  
Unfortunately this caused her to loosen her grip on the voice that was trying to break through. When the two broke apart again with Lily panting hard the voice leapt at its chance.  
  
~Let me help you. With my skills I can help you to easily defeat him. He's nothing if you an I joined forces.~  
  
"No," Lily mumbled under her breath hoping that no one would notice. Trying to find a way to get rid of the voice, she charged Link blindly. He easily sidestepped her oncoming attack and retaliated by bringing his sword around to her back. Lily could feel the point pressing into the cloth of her tunic and fear over swept her. And with it came the voice.  
  
~Now I can prove to you what you really are.~  
  
"Do you yield?" he asked. He was actually a little breathless but it wasn't too bad. There was no answer.  
  
"Do you yield?" he demanded more forcefully.  
  
"No." The voice that came from Lily was different. It still held the same tone but it sounded wiser and older. Before Link could even bat an eye his feet were swept out from underneath him. He landed on his back with a hard thud and rolled to the side barely avoiding the blade that hit the ground where he was a moment later. Quickly he got into a crouching position and managed to block another strike that came his way. He could hear the sword whistling as it passed by him when it came towards his face in a downward swipe. The friendly match had suddenly turned into a deadly game of survival.  
  
When he could he caught glances at the expression on Lily's face. It was cold, hard, and merciless. She was acting as if this was a battle to the death. Link dodged and ducked getting a swing in here or there but the old Lily that he had been battling with before was gone. She had been replaced by something but what? Lily kept on advancing on Link. He back flipped and barely missed a blow to his stomach. She swung left and tried to hit him but he jumped to the side. The expression on her face became frustrated.  
  
Suddenly she stopped in her tracks. Link backed away quickly panting hard. He glared at Lily and tried to figure out what was wrong. The crowd behind him was silent as they watched in horror. Out of the corner of his eye he managed to get a glimpse of Saith being held back by Ian. In front of him Lily's hand shot out. Her palm faced him and her fingers were spread apart.  
  
A glowing ball of white light appeared in the middle of her hand and started to grow in size. When it had reached it's intended size it stopped. Link had seen something similar when he had faced Ganondorf in their last battle. Closing his eyes he waited for the blast to be released.  
  
It never happened. Opening one eye Link found that Lily seemed to be struggling with something. Her face that had once been full of frustration was now concentrating on the ground in front of her. Then slowly but surely the white ball faded from her palm. She put her hand down and started to breathe heavily. Glancing up her green eyes met Link's blue ones. What he saw surprised him. She was scared. Scared of something he couldn't see. Without a word her sword dropped from her hands and landed with a clatter on the ground.  
  
Lily looked around at the crowd that watched her with growing curiosity. She cringed involuntarily and fled from the scene. Link and the other watched her go wondering about the acts that had just occurred.  
  
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Hello? Eh-hmm. Is any one still reading this? Yeah I'm sorry I haven't updated for a while but to make up for it I decided to write a longer chapter. I hope you liked it. I thought it was time for some serious character development that went along with the plot. Inner conflict works great so I decided to use it. By the way, has anyone besides DarkBlackNoid kind of figured out what's going on? Oh yeah and I will go into more detail with the goddesses. I've already got everything about them figured out I just haven't gotten around to writing about them yet.  
  
I would like to thank SilverCrystal for their nice review. I'm glad you like this story. I'll try to get around to reviewing one of your stories but lately I've been a little pressed for time. The only reason I was able to get this chapter up is because it's a snow day. Well thanks for reading and stay tuned! (Did that sound too much like a television show announcer?) 


	20. The Night Before

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Zelda characters but the ones that are of my creation are mine and I do own the rights to them.  
  
Chapter Nineteen: The Night Before  
  
The sun set slowly and the light faded away leaving the land in darkness. Shadows sprang up with the dieing light and the children that could see them imagined them to be monsters waiting for them to move from their mother's laps. Tension filled the air. This would be the Hylian's last night of peaceful slumber. In the morning the war would begin and many husbands, sons, grandparents, cousins, and uncles would loose their lives fighting to save the people they loved. The question was, would their efforts be enough to push back the oncoming army or would the Hylians be overcome.  
  
In her room Lily slowly rocked back and forth on her bed clutching her knees to her chest like a child. There were no tears or sobs coming from her thin body. All that could be heard throughout the room was the mumblings of someone who is terrified.  
  
"Mommy, Daddy, where are you?" she whispered to herself. "Come back to me please. Don't leave me here. All alone. I don't want to be alone."  
  
~You're not alone.~ The voice sounded soothing and calm but this only frightened Lily more. She had seen the terrible power of the voice that was haunting her. She wanted it to go away so that she could be left in peace.  
  
"Stop it," she whispered.  
  
~It's alright, I'm here for you.~  
  
"Stop it." This time it was louder.  
  
~Don't shove me away.~  
  
"Stop it!" Again, louder.  
  
~I'm only trying to help. I don't want to see you get hurt.~  
  
"STOP IT! Why can't you just leave me alone?! If you're trying to help me so much then why did you almost make me hurt Link?!" she shouted. She pushed herself violently away from the bed. Slowly she made her way over to her mirror so that she could look back at herself and make sure that she wasn't going crazy. Gazing into it, she gasped. The seventeen-year-old girl that should have been looking back at her wasn't there. In her place was a beautiful young woman that looked eerily familiar.  
  
Her blond hair cascaded down to her waist but it wasn't wavy like Lily's. The same green eyes stared back at Lily but they were wiser and hid a wealth of knowledge. Her full lips were painted with a faint pink coloring and she adorned golden bronze makeup on her eyelids. But perhaps the most startling feature of all was a round yellow ball that was about the size of quarter lying smack dab in the middle of her forehead. Lily turned her head to the left and watched as the reflection did the same.  
  
~This is who I am. And who you are.~  
  
"No," she whispered pulling away from the mirror. The expression on the reflection showed the same surprised look that Lily's face held. "I refuse to believe this."  
  
~But you must.~  
  
"I really am going crazy," Lily said to herself. She shifted her gaze to the ground and took another step backward. She found the edge of her bed with her hands and lowered herself into a sitting position. "It's too real to be a dream but it's not believable enough to be real. I must be hallucinating."  
  
~Would you stop denying the truth and listen to me.~  
  
"The voice is all part of it, too," she continued on as if she hadn't heard the voice.  
  
~If you don't start listening to me right now, all the-- ~  
  
The voice was abruptly cut off when there came a knock at Lily's door. She broke from her train of thought and moved to get up. The door opened on its own and in the hall stood Saith. He watched her with a hard eye and Lily had a hard time surpressing a shudder. This was not the same Saith that she had gotten to know in the past few days. He was mad and she was almost positive that she knew why.  
  
"Hello Saith," she said quietly. He didn't answer her but took a step into the room anyways. Lily took a step back and tried not to meet his gaze.  
  
"Tell me, what happened today?" he asked, his voice low.  
  
"I-I don't want to talk about it," she said turning away from him. She knew what would happen now. They would kick her out and probably make her stay in the Great Hall. This was her punishment for bringing these people into her problems.  
  
"You're going to have to."  
  
"Why?" she whispered to her bed. "It's over and done. You can't change the past. There's no need to talk about it. Nobody got hurt."  
  
Lily felt a hand on her shoulder before it jerked her around. Saith looked into her eyes and found the same fear that his father had seen earlier that afternoon. But what was she so afraid of?  
  
"What do you mean, nobody got hurt? You nearly killed my father! You expect me to believe that we don't need to talk about it? Something went wrong today, Lily. I can see it in your eyes and you need to talk about it," Saith insisted. He was actually more scared for Lily rather than mad at her for happened today. She had obviously not been in control of her actions and he wanted to know what was going on. It was then that he realized how much he had come to care for her. Before it had just been a simple crush. Now it was something more. He wasn't just worried about her health. He was worried about her state of mind as well and right now it didn't seem to be in very good condition.  
  
"I'm sorry Saith. I didn't mean to try and hurt someone. I just got scared. . .and I guess. . .my body just kind of reacted," she said. She was on the verge of tears now. Everything had been going good up until now. But now she was being pestered by her imagination and she had almost hurt one her good friends.  
  
"Someone's body doesn't just react with the instinct to kill, Lily. That's a lie and we both know it. Now tell me what's going on."  
  
"I don't know," she said. Her voice sounded so lost and forlorn. "I just don't know what's going on."  
  
She put her face in her hands and sat down on the bed hoping that Saith would take that explanation and leave her alone. She didn't want anybody coming near her. In this state of mind there was no telling what she might do. But he didn't go.  
  
Lily felt the mattress underneath her squish as Saith seated himself next to her. He didn't move for a few minutes and the feeling of his body next to hers comforted her. She still didn't dare to look at him, though. She didn't want him to see the pain and stress on her face.  
  
"The Tryul army will be at the gates of the marketplace tomorrow," Saith said quietly.  
  
"And?"  
  
"Well, I wanted to discuss our battle plans a little while we still had time." Lily could feel the smile that Saith was giving her. Removing her hands from her face, she glanced up at him. The firelight caught his golden hair and made it glow and his blue eyes sparkled back at her.  
  
Beside her Saith was having a hard time concentrating on anything but Lily. The fear was almost gone from her green eyes now and the blond hair that spilled down her back was so soft and inviting. He almost couldn't keep his hand from trying to entangle itself in her wavy locks. They stared at each other for a moment longer and Saith could feel himself slowly loosing control. Any minute he would steal a kiss from those lips that were set in an almost pouting frown.  
  
"So what about those battle plans?" Lily asked expectantly, ruining the moment. Surprised, Saith blinked at her, silently mourning his lost chance.  
  
"Oh. . .um, well,. . .when the army made it's way into the marketplace we're going to try to launch an attack from the side streets. This will be our main force while we have a small number of soldiers attacking from the front."  
  
"You mean like a diversion, and then sweep in with a pincer movement?"  
  
"Right. Hopefully the narrow fighting space and the surprise attack will scare Prince Darius enough so that he'll pull out of the city for a while. In the meantime we've got an army forming at their back. When we're ready we'll start an all out assault on Tryul's forces from both the back and the front. How does it sound?" Saith asked her proudly. He had actually thought of the plan himself with a little help from Tearen. Even though his brother wasn't one for fighting, he did have a brain for strategy.  
  
"What do you mean an army? We don't have an army," Lily said.  
  
"We've got the Gorons, Zoras, and Gerudos on the move. They should be here just in time to help out with the battle."  
  
"They'll only be able to help if we can scare Darius enough to drive him out of the city. The whole plan kind of falls apart if he doesn't pull back," she stated evenly.  
  
"We'll just have to put on a really convincing performance then."  
  
Lily sighed and hung her head.  
  
"I just don't know if this is going to work. It's all too risky. Don't we have some sort of back up plan?"  
  
"What kind of plan did you have in mind?"  
  
Lily was surprised by the question. She didn't think anybody would have asked her about her opinions on the war.  
  
"Well, I didn't really have a plan. It was just kind of a spur of the moment idea," she said. "If you had a back up plan you wouldn't have to worry about Darius not pulling out of the marketplace."  
  
"That's true but it's too late to come up with a plan and then implement it before tomorrow morning. Especially without them seeing anything." Saith sighed and stood up. "Our scouts tell us that the army's camped about a mile away from the entrance to the marketplace. So, like I said, there isn't anything that we can do without them spotting it."  
  
He walked over to the door and Lily watched him as he opened and stepped out into the hallway. He stopped for a moment and turned back to face her.  
  
"If you ever feel like telling me what's going on, don't hesitate to come find me," he said reassuringly. He gazed at her a moment longer before he closed the door behind him and continued down the hall.  
  
Lily watched the door for another moment or two, making sure that he had really gone, before she got up and changed into her nightgown. Tomorrow was going to be a long day and she was going to need all the sleep she could get.  
  
~Tomorrow is going to be the most important day of your life. Tomorrow the fate of the world rests in your hands.~  
  
Lily simply ignored the voice as she blew out the torch and climbed under the thick comforter. Closing her eyes, she sighed and tried to get to sleep.  
  
The tension that could be felt in the air grew heavier with every passing hour. Silence reined supreme and made the world seem dead to the listener's ears. Nothing moved on that moonlit night except for the scurrying of the guards on both sides as they prepared for battle with the coming of the morning light. The smell of boiling tar and smoking firewood drifted through the air and all the signs pointed to a bloody sunrise.  
  
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Hey, I stayed with my schedule this time. I'm not sure how it's going to go with my other stories but I got this one up within the week. Mainly because it's Spring Break but what works, works. Next week school starts so be prepared to wait for another chapter. I'm honestly trying to get this out as fast as I can. I know how much some of you love this story so I'm making sure to get this one done first.  
  
Thank you to Benjamin Brown who reviewed for one of my earlier chapters. Glad to see that this is not one of those 'hack wannabe writers "I can do as well as they can" jobs that was nothing like the original and stank to high heaven.' I'm also reposting some of my earlier chapters with mistakes that were fixed and a few changes. Don't worry, for all you older readers. It's nothing big. Anyways I'll see you next chapter. Bye bye!  
  
P.S. I was looking back at some of my author's notes, too. Now is it just me or did I sound pretty conceited back then? Funny that it was only a couple of months ago when I wrote that. 


	21. Dreams

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Zelda characters but the ones that are of my creation are mine and I do own the rights to them.

***WARNING: This chapter contains violence and in depth descriptions of torture. Those of you with really queasy stomachs take caution when you're reading. It's not all that bad (I don't think) but I'm warning you just in case***

Chapter Twenty: Dreams

The wind whipped cruelly around the small form curled up on itself lying in the middle of nowhere. The only light that could be seen was the dim glow of the fading stars in the night sky. Gnarled tree branches swayed with the wild wind and made everything around the form frightening and unreal. The grass underneath was dead and prickly, moving in time with the trees. The huddled form shivered as another blast from the icy wind found its way under her clothes.

Lily pulled her legs closer to her chin and tried to warm up. The air around her was so cold and it chilled her to the bone. She tried to use her long hair as a sort of makeshift blanket but it didn't work too well. Lily tried to get glances of the area around her while she waited for the wind to die down…if it ever would. As soon as the thought finished running through her mind, the wind did die down. Confused, Lily sat up looked around her. Nothing was stirring. The wind that had been so violent before was now gone without a trace of it left. Sighing, Lily stood up and brushed the dead grass from her clothes, which had changed from her normal blue dress, to a pair of tan breeches that were finely made. Her shirt was sleeves and yellow with embroidered designs all over it. If Lily looked close enough she could almost make out the patterns of swirls and stars but every time she moved the pattern shifted and was replaced with something new. Golden bands adorned her wrists and on her feet were sturdy yet comfortable sandals. The laces of the sandals ran up past her ankle to the middle of her lower leg in a crisscross pattern underneath the breeches.   

Just as confused as ever, Lily started to walk. She didn't know her destination and nor did she pay much attention to where her feet were going. She merely picked a direction and started to walk. As she strolled along she watched the landscape around her. Everything in this new world that she had found could be named in one word.

Dead. 

Everything was just dead. The limbs on the trees sported no leaves of any kind and they seemed unfriendly to say the least. It was a huge contrast to the gigantic trees of the Kokiri Forest that seemed to be alive in more ways the one. The grass under foot was yellow and crunchy and in some places there was no grass at all, just the bare dirt ground. Even the sky seemed to be dying. It was now blacker than the blackest black with the stars gone and Lily was sure that this land had not seen the sun for the longest time.

It only occurred to her after what seemed to be the longest walk she'd ever been on that she knew where she was going or at least the places that she was passing seemed familiar to her. This did nothing to help her already confused mind, for even though she knew where she was going she didn't know what would meet her at the end of her journey. She could only faintly recall the path to her destination but not the destination itself. Grumbling under her breath about how bad her memory must be getting, she continued on.

Finally, a small hump started to rise out of the ground. To Lily the distance looked short and she picked up her pace. The closer she got the bigger the hump got and with each passing step Lily could feel an uneasiness growing in her heart. The hump soon grew into a tower that seemed to reach the sky and its blood red color gave her chills. This was a tower of death but what mysteries it held only made Lily's curiosity grow along with the uneasiness.

Faster than she realized it, she was standing in front of large door at the front of the tower. It was the same crimson color as the rest of the building and it was made of metal. Lily approached it slowly, her stomach doing flip-flops. This building and the feeling around it gave her the creeps. Using one hand she pushed the huge door open. It swung easily under the pressure put against it but a loud squealing could be heard coming from its ungreased hinges. Stepping into the long dark hallway, Lily started to make her way into the tower. Her stomach was no longer doing flip-flops. Now it felt like a piece of lead that was weighing her down.

Suddenly a sound came from in front of her. At first it was unrecognizable to her ears but as she slowly edged forward into the awaiting darkness the sound became clearer and her heart jumped to her throat. 

A bloodcurdling cry rang through the air. Behind it, almost as if it was backup, came pleas for help. The voices wanted someone to help them. Lily started to run towards the voices. There was no way that she could just leave them there to be hurt by whatever was scaring them.

"Help us, please!"

More pleas sounded from the darkness as Lily raced down the passage she was in but it seemed like the farther that she ran the fainter the voices sounded. She ran faster than she ever thought possible and she could feel the toll that it was taking on her legs. Fire raced up and down the back of her thighs while each time her foot pounded into the ground to take another step it felt like she was walking on knives. Lily merely ignored the pain and sprinted on. Something inside her told her that she absolutely _had_ to reach the voices.

She took step after step and yet it almost felt as if she was running in place. After a few minutes of running, she finally stopped to take a rest. The screams persisted but it seemed that there was no way she was going to be able to reach them. 

Suddenly the world rushed around her. She could hear the movement of objects as they switched places and she reached out a hand to steady herself against the wall but the wall was no longer beside her. Her vision blurred and things looked like a river of colors that surrounded her. The color that seemed to be the most persistent was black. Then as suddenly as it had started it stopped. The room she was in finally stood still and Lily could feel herself do a double take as she took in the scene around her.

In one corner of the room stood a large hearth in which a fire roared but this hearth did not give off the pleasant homey feeling one would expect. Instead of a large bubbling pot of stew hanging over the fire this fireplace was littered with devices for torture. What looked like an overlarge peppershaker sat hanging on hook with a boiling liquid inside. A boot shaped object hung next to it and Lily didn't even want to guess what it was used for. In another corner more tools were strewn on the floor. Among these were thumbscrews, a breast ripper, a headcrusher, a cat's paw, and a heretic fork. Lily could feel her stomach trying to make its way up her throat as she gazed at the objects. Several of them were covered in blood.

A scream at her right brought Lily's attention to three young women shackled to the wall. One only had to look to see the beauty that they once contained. The first had short purple hair tied back in a high ponytail. Her eyes sparkled with a hidden fire that was the same deep lavender of her hair. The second had long blue hair put into a long braid that traveled down her back and deep blue eyes that held understanding. The third had green hair that went down to her shoulders with green eyes that spoke of hidden courage. All of them also had a small sphere in the middle of their foreheads that was the same color as their hair and eyes. Their beauty would have once burned the eyes of mortal men but now blood streamed down their faces like small rivers. Their hair was dull and dirt ridden and the clothes they wore were nothing but rags. Looking down at the hands of the women, Lily noticed that the thumbscrews had already been used. Their fingers were now nothing more than a mass of bloody bone and skin melded together. They also wore what looked like a cloak of blood. That was the one thing that really stood out.

Blood. It was everywhere.

Even the walls had not escaped the thick dark liquid that seemed to ooze all over the place. Lily wanted to run, she wanted to scream as loud as she could and flee from this scene of grotesque horror but she was frozen in place by the only other thing in the room. Standing next to the three women with their blood dripping down the front of its black cloak, stood a figure that only nightmares could have dreamed up. Its face--as "it" was the only way that she could describe it—was covered in shadow by the hood that surrounded it head. The gaping black hole left there only frightened Lily more. She was sure that if she even got a glimpse of that awful face her blood would freeze just from sheer terror.

Slowly the thing reached out a hooded hand towards her. She could almost hear the cackling laughter of the creature as its hand drew closer while she stood and watched. Every muscle in her body screamed at her to run but there was nowhere for her to go and she couldn't move anyway. The hand crept closer with each breath she drew until it touched her face.

A scream ripped from her throat as pain coursed through the nerves in her skin. Soon her scream was silenced and all she could see was blood. Lily felt it dripping down onto her limbs and the feeling both disgusted and frightened her. Then she lost feeling throughout her body and slowly her sense of taste and smell disappeared as well. All that she had left was sight but there was nothing to see except blood. Her mind was swimming in it. It was all she thought about, all she knew.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Someone shaking her violently brought Lily back from the world of dreams. She groaned as she turned over. Her mouth was cotton dry and her body ached all over for no seemingly good reason. When she opened her eyes there was a pair of blue concerned ones staring back at her. Slowly, she sat up in bed and looked over to where Tearen stood only a foot away.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice strung with worry.

"Fine," Lily mumbled. She put her head in her hands and tried not to think about the dream she had just had. It had been so real, so vivid.

"Are you sure? You were screaming bloody murder."

Tearen didn't notice when Lily flinched at the word "bloody." She didn't want to have to think about that ever again. On the good side the voice hadn't started bugging her yet. Stretching, Lily clambered out of bed to go and change. Before she did though she asked, "What time is it?"

"Six. The battle will start as soon as everyone's ready to go." Tearen heard an audible gasp come from Lily. He couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with her today. First she woke up screaming from some nightmare that she was having and now it looked like she'd completely forgotten about the war that was going on. Sighing, he walked out of her room and made his way down to the rapidly filling courtyard. 

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Hello! Sorry it's been awhile but amazingly this author has a life of her own. I know it's the shocker of the century. Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter. I tried to put in as much detail as I possibly could. It looks like some of you are starting to catch on to what's going on and some of you may also be confused but don't worry it'll all work out in the end I promise you. I can't promise though that the next chapter will be coming any faster. Thanks to my delinquent teachers they keep piling more homework on as if they're trying to accomplish something by the end of the year. It doesn't do a bit of good though because most of the students have developed a case of summeritus and most of our brains are starting to shut down. Well, I'm sure you don't want to hear about my boring life so I'll leave it at that.

Thanks this time go out to Gary, DoomSaber666, and Melika. Thanks for the wonderful support guys. You make this author's day everyday (or at least the days you review)!

**DoomSaber666-**Wow! Thanks for the awesome praise. I'm sorry you're a little bit confused but don't worry everything will workout. Also thanks for suggesting it but I very seriously doubt that I will be sending this into Nintendo.

See ya! 


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